


Shadow of the Wind

by dracox_serdriel



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Angels, Canon Rewrite, Canon-Typical Violence, Coda, Demon trials, Demons, Destiel - Freeform, Devil's Trap, Ending it Sideways, Explicit Language, Explicit Sexual Content, M/M, The Demon Tablet, The Roadhouse, The Spoils of War, Time Travel, Time warp, old enemies
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-11-05
Updated: 2014-11-07
Packaged: 2018-02-24 05:14:08
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 10
Words: 22,031
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2569445
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dracox_serdriel/pseuds/dracox_serdriel
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>With their newly acquired knowledge of the Tablet Trials, the Winchesters travel back in time with a newly human Castiel to a critical point in their history to prevent the Apocalypse from ever happening, making deals with angels and demons alike to lay the groundwork for their plans. Will they change fate or lose themselves in the past?</p><p>
  <em>Coda to the entire series, with modified versions of events from Seasons 3, 5, and 8.</em>
</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The First One's Always Free

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lilith attacks with Hellhounds to claim Dean's soul, but several unexpected guests shake up her plans.

_There was a fire burning on earth._

_Angels gathered as it burned. It was the first time in millennia that flame attracted seraphs to the plane of the world. They came in companies of threes and fives, witnessing the smoke as it rose into the sky._

* * *

**New Harmony, Indiana. May 2008.**  
Lilith enjoyed power play as much as the next demon, but she had lost touch with the human element during her stint in Hell. People were more difficult to manipulate than she remembered, especially her most recent project, the Winchester brothers. Not only did she have to pretend to be one of her own lackeys, but they even forced her to cut her vacation short.

Oh, but after today, it would all be worth it.

At the moment, Dean Winchester was held down telekinetically over a table, and Sam was pinned to a wall, the fruits of her labor ready for the reaping.

She grabbed Sam's chin and pressed her lips to his. Their meat suits literally sizzled.

"Your lips are soft," she said.

"Right, so you have me! Let my brother go."

"Silly goose. You wanna bargain, you have to have something that I want. You don't."

Dean sneered. "So, is this your big plan, huh? Drag me to hell. Kill Sam. And then what? Become queen bitch?"

"I don't have to answer to puppy chow," she replied. Then she said, "Sic 'em, boy."

The Hellhound attacked. Lilith laughed as Dean screamed. 

"No! Stop!" Sam yelled. "STOP IT!"

Dean's blood poured out of his chest. His breath bubbled out in slow, painful bursts. Lilith drank in the pain, the horror, the frantic desperation. 

Then she conjured her energy, and with the palm of her hand, blasted out a radiating power that filled the room with a blinding light, finishing off the Winchester clan and ending their so-called destiny.

The smile slid off her face when she realized Sam remained alive without so much as a scratch on him. 

"Back," she commanded.

She flicked her wrist, throwing him back, but he didn't budge. He sneered as he slowly closed in on her, the grim determination on his face more sinister than anything she'd ever before witnessed from the human race.

"I said, back!" she ordered, knowing it wouldn't work.

"I don't think so."

Sam, still strong, still resisting her, took hold of the demon-killing knife.

Lilith knew when to cut her loses. It was time for her to smoke out and leave this miserable body behind.

* * *

As soon as Lilith vanished, Sam went to Dean's side and collapsed. His heart raced as his hands slipped in his brother's blood, and every thought in his head deserted him, leaving him with nothing to distract himself from the misery in from of him. In that moment, there was nothing but despair and shock.

Tears, sweat, and whatever else Sam had left in him flowed freely.

"Gotta say, kid, those tears, they're really something," someone said.

Sam recognized the voice, but he couldn't place it. He stood up and clutched the knife harder when he realized he wasn't in the same house.

"Who are you?" Sam yelled. "Huh? Whoever you are, you picked the wrong day!"

The speaker whistled before continuing. "Actually, I picked the exact right day. Oh, poor Dean-o. Just had this place cleaned up, now his blood is everywhere."

"Show yourself!"

The Trickster appeared, lollipop in hand and a smile on his face. 

"Sammy!" he exclaimed. "Good to see you again."

"You! You arranged all this?"

"Well, I can't take all the credit." 

He waved his hand, and Dean's body vanished. 

Sam crossed the room with a few quick strides and put the knife to The Trickster's neck.

"Bring him back!" Sam yelled. "Right now."

"Boy, howdy, that's not the way to kill me, now is it? In any case, that's not your brother."

"Give me his body back!" 

Someone large and strong yanked Sam away and up into the air. He couldn't get a good look, but it seemed like The Trickster conjured up an eight-foot tall bodyguard.

"Much better," The Trickster said. "Before you get your panties in a twist and work 'round the clock to hunt me down for six months. Again. This trick is not on you. Well, not entirely on you. Me and Lilith, we go back a ways, and I owe her a very big kick up her ass."

"A trick where you let my brother get ripped apart by hellhounds?"

"Oh, right, forgot to mention, that bitty wasn't your brother." 

He snapped his fingers and a dozen Deans filled the room, standing like soldiers across the back wall. 

He continued, "My own make and model: Dean turns self-sacrifice into an art form."

"Sammy, let's get the hell outta here!" all twelve Deans said simultaneously.

The Trickster snapped his fingers, and they disappeared.

"I don't believe you," Sam said. 

"You are one sorry SOB, aren't you?" The Trickster asked. "Suck it up because this trick requires one thing on your part."

"I'm gonna kill you, you get that?"

"Maybe later, sugar-lips, but not now."

Sam relaxed so that his captor's grip relaxed a little, allowing the younger Winchester to jab up hard and break free. He went straight for The Trickster, who waved his arm and put up an invisible wall.

"I knew this was gonna happen," he replied, almost bored. "You Winchesters, you just can't play nice, now can you?"

He snapped his fingers.

Everything went white, then black, then white again.

Sam blinked a few times.

He was inside a janitor's closet. The Trickster must've sent him somewhere. Furious, he yanked the door open and stormed out.

He stopped abruptly. He was standing in the hallway of a hospital, and he was wearing a long, white coat.

"Doctor," a woman said as she passed him.

"Doctor," he replied without thinking.

He checked his new getup, but none of his pockets contained keys or a cell phone, so he went the nearest desk. The words SEATTLE MERCY HOSPITAL blazed over the wall.

"Sammy!" Dean shouted.

Sam turned to see Dean, also in a white coat.

"Dean?"

"Who the hell else would I be?" Dean asked. "And where the hell have you been?"

"Me?" Sam asked in disbelief. "What about you? How did you get here?"

"No idea," he replied. "Last thing I remember, we were in that house with Ruby. I went with the mom and kid into the basement to make sure they were secure. When I came back up, I stepped out of the basement and into a freaking janitor's closet. Wearing this." Dean waved at his lab coat for good measure. "And people keep calling me 'doctor.'"

"Why didn't you call me?" Sam asked.

"I tried. I used the phones, but they kept going to voice mail. I tried getting out of here. Every time I step outside – ground floor, parking garage, helipad on the roof – I get genied back to the damn closet."

"Doctor," another woman said as she passed.

"Doctor," Dean replied with a flirty smile.

Sam wanted to punch him in the face.

"So, after that, you don't remember anything?" Sam asked. 

"I remember things fine," Dean said. "I've been here for half an hour. You think someone yanked our asses outta there? Ruby?"

"Tell me something only you would know."

"Huh?"

"Dean, I just saw you ripped apart by a hellhound," Sam replied. "And for all I know, this whole thing is just Lilith's idea of softening me up! So tell me something only you would know."

"You serious?"

"I might not have the demon knife on me, but this place is filled with sharp instruments." 

"Okay, calm down, let me think," Dean replied. After a moment he said, "Rhonda Hurley."

"What about her?"

"I dated her when I was nineteen," Dean said. "One night, you asked me why my underwear was pink, and I told you they weren't and you should mind your business."

"And?"

Dean rolled his eyes. "You remember, we were in that crappy rental apartment for like a month, and we ended up having to share just the one room."

"Yeah, after the pipes burst and damaged the other bedroom and living room, if you can call them that," Sam recollected. 

"Made it so you couldn't salt a damn thing," the elder Winchester continued. "Anyway, you came back from the library early, and she was freaked out when you nearly walked in on us. Long story short, I was too busy helping her out the back room's window and getting my pants on, and I kinda forgot to take them off. I had to wear them until you fell asleep."

"Anyone could know that," Sam said. "I'm sure it happened more than once."

"No! Hell, no!" Dean replied. "Look, they were pink panties. They were both pink and satiny. That did not happen again, ever. She made me try them on."

"Why?"

"Because she thought the idea of me in her underwear was hot!"

"I knew it!" a dark-haired woman shouted as she stormed up to Dean. She slapped him across the face and screeched, "You pig! Who is this whore that got you to wear her panties?"

Dean started, "Listen, I don't – "

Slap! Again, right across the face.

"Go to hell!" the woman bellowed as she marched away.

"You satisfied yet?" Dean asked Sam. "I'm getting slapped in the face for shit I did ten years ago!"

"All right," Sam said. "I knew all that, by the way. About the panties."

"What?"

"Rhonda told me a few days later," Sam said. "After she found out you were making out with some other girl."

"Awesome," Dean replied. "So can we figure out what the hell is going on?"

Sam nodded, but he had his doubts. He desperately wanted this to be reality: his brother alive and well. But they were standing in a hospital full of people who all apparently thought they were doctors, so how close to reality could he be?

* * *

**Meanwhile, back at the house...** Lilith felt it: something powerful stopped her from smoking out just as the Winchesters disappeared. Or, as it stood now, Winchester. Singular.

She smiled. Maybe Sam Winchester could survive a blast or two, but only someone like Alastair had the power to pull something like this off. And if Alastair was coming to call, it could only mean that Sam Winchester's number was finally coming up.

She tried to smoke out again. She couldn't.

"You cannot leave," a man said.

Lilith didn't recognize the meat suit or the possessor. When she first laid eyes on him, something new stirred inside her. It took her a few moments to realize what it was: terror.

"You're not playing very nice," Lilith said, miming the voice of a pouting child.

Pain. Sharp, burning pain.

More pain, this time blistering and permeating. 

Her essence cracked. She screamed. 

"Goodbye, bitch!"

Dean Winchester had stabbed her in the back with the demon-killing knife. She was far too old to be finished by that old pig poker, but the agony it caused sapped her powers.

And that man coming toward her wasn't a man at all.

A long time ago, she had heard a fairy tale, a kind of bedtime story for demons to keep them in line. She'd never believed it before, but this man's body radiated more than power. He produced a triangular blade.

Lilith threw Dean and his knife across the room. She tried to toss the mystery man with an invisible force, but he didn't flinch. She kept the terror away by focusing, thinking, remembering.

If this was the monster from her fairy tale, then she could stop him. Alastair had taught her well.

Lilith chanted, "Omnipotentis Dei potestatem invoco. Omnipotentis Dei potestatem invoco. Aborro te ut. Angelum omnium obsequendum..." 

He kept coming, slowly, and her strength waned. Dean was almost free from her telekinetic power.

She spoke quickly, "Domine expuet! Domine expuet!"

Something vacated the mystery man, and he stumbled into a wall. Normally she would've pounced on such easy prey, but Lilith balked. It didn't make sense; she hadn't finished her spell yet.

The man turned and snarled at her before he adjusted his trench coat. Whatever he had been before, he was human now. 

Lilith raised her palm to cast her whiteout blast, but she didn't have the juice. The Winchester broke free. Panic, real panic, pulled her under. The monster was gone, why weren't her powers restored?

Dean and the other man attacked, and again she had the demon blade buried to its hilt in her back. She had no trouble tossing his pathetic human body across the room.

But the victory was short-lived. The odd, triangular blade went straight through her neck. Whatever it was, it was far more formidable than the demon knife: long, silver, and petrifying.

She didn't have time to understand why Dean was alive or who this other man was. The supremacy of the blade scattered Lilith, and she was gone forever.

* * *

Dean pulled the knife out of Lilith and wiped it clean. Castiel did likewise with the angel blade.

"Cas, you okay?" 

Castiel nodded.

"You don't look okay," Dean continued. "I didn't even know there was a spell to – "

A howl interrupted him.

"Hellhounds," they said simultaneously. 

Cas produced two pairs of goggles and deftly tossed one to Dean before both donned the new eye gear.

"What the hell?" Dean asked. "Cas, we talked about this. These aren't glasses. They're for swimming." 

"They affix to the face more efficiently than glasses."

"Can't argue with that," Dean replied. "One pooch over here."

"I see two more over there," Cas said.

"Let's hope it's just three. Hey, Cas?"

"Yeah?"

"You ready for this?"


	2. If Words Had Names...

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After Dean convinces Sam to abort the Demon Tablet Trials, he leaves the younger Winchester to recuperate at the Men of Letters Bunker as he searches for Castiel. Dean and Cas face off with a trio of Hellhounds.

_There was a fire burning on earth._

_There had been no announcement, no resounding call summoning them, yet they all came together. It started with the cupids, then the Garrison, then those from every earthly post. Finally, even those in the highest offices in Heaven came to bare witness._

* * *

**An Abandoned Church in North Dakota. May 15, 2013.**  
Fire erupted in Sam's veins. He glowed for a few moments, and then he began to fade.

"Dean," Sam said as he gasped for air.

"See?" Dean replied.

The younger Winchester doubled over in pain.

"Sam? I got you, little brother. You're gonna be just fine."

Dean supported him as they went to the Impala. Sam collapsed next to it.

"Sam, Sam?" he repeated. 

His brother was unconscious and didn't respond. His fingers found a pulse. Sam was still alive. All he needed was a little help, maybe some healing.

Dean cast his eyes up to the stars and yelled, "Cas?! Castiel! Where the hell are you?"

The sky turned red as fire rained down.

"No, Cas..."

Sam's eyes flicked opened and he asked, "What's happening?"

"Angels," Dean replied. "They're falling."

* * *

**New Harmony, Indiana. May 2008.**  
The first hellhound charged straight for Cas, who sidestepped the monster and delivered a slicing blow down its side. It snarled and turned to attack again, and Dean nailed it in the eye with the demon knife.

BANG! BANG! Cas peppered the remaining houses with salt and iron rounds from two shot guns, and though snarls and whimpers followed each hit, the hounds barely flinched.

Cas flinched when a louder gunshot rang out. Dean took down a second hound with a bullet from the Colt.

"We agreed not to waste those bullets!" Cas protested.

"Ding dong, the bitch is dead!" Dean said, his eyes focused on the remaining hound. "What're we saving them for now?"

They went back to back as the last one circled them, clawing at the furniture and slashing at the floor. 

Then it charged with a zigzag pattern. Cas fired the iron and salt rounds. It leaped over them, and both men lifted their blades, slicing the hound from chest to groin as it passed overhead. 

The stink of its blood was enough to make them both wretch. It cascaded around them and drenched their hair and clothing.

"Shooting them is preferable," Cas remarked calmly.

"Putting it mildly, Cas."

"The other demons are gone," Cas said. "I imagine it would be best if we washed the blood out of our hair and clothes before leaving."

Dean nodded, and they trooped upstairs to the main bathroom. They tried to wipe down their garments, but the blood was too thick to salvage them. So they stripped to their untainted undergarments. 

Cas wrapped their bloody clothing and coats in towels and stuffed them in a small piece of luggage from the hallway closet while Dean pilfered pants and shirts. They weren't a flattering fit, but it was better than walking away from a crime scene in their boxers.

"Dean! Sam!" someone bellowed from downstairs.

"Crap, Cas, we gotta move." 

"Why?"

"Bobby," Dean replied.

"We're fleeing from Bobby Singer?" Cas asked.

"Hell yeah."

"Why?"

"Because he's gonna ask where Sam is," Dean replied. "And that's only if he doesn't call bullshit the moment he sees me. He's gonna know something's off, and even if he lets that one go, he's gonna wanna know who the hell you are. You two haven't met yet."

"Ah, yes," Cas replied.

"He'll probably stab me with something silver before he gets that far."

Bobby had come through the front door, so they waited by the top of the stairs as he checked out the first floor. As soon as he made his way over to the basement, Dean and Cas sneaked down the stairs and out the door. 

They made it to the old minivan they parked down the street without attracting attention.

As they drove off, Dean asked, "You gonna tell me about it?"

"If they were glasses instead of goggles, they'd've fallen off in the fight."

"What? No, not that, I mean the other thing," Dean said. "That spell that Lilith laid on you."

"It was nothing," Cas replied. "She didn't finish it."

"So, she didn't zap the angel out of you?"

"No, the angel left of its own accord," he replied. "I explained that the angel blade would kill her, regardless of who wielded it. That meant I merely needed to remain conscious and in the room long enough to stab her, which is a feat I could perform without angelic assistance."

Dean laughed. "You were right."

"About what?"

"Powers or no powers, you're still a good soldier."

* * *

**Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. May 16, 2013.**  
Dean followed the GPS on Cas's cell phone to a small strip of older buildings in Oklahoma City. He parked the Impala and walked past each one, but they were all vacant. No one was around except for an older man waiting in his car and a young woman heading for the warehouse at the end of the street.

He checked the tracker again. It was still in the same general area but moving. There was only one person on the move right now, so Dean followed her.

She could be a pickpocket. Cas wouldn't be great at avoiding that. Or maybe he befriended her and lent her his phone. There were plenty of reasons that a pretty young woman would have Cas's phone besides demonic or angelic abductions. 

"Excuse me," Dean said to her. 

She stopped and replied, "You mean me?"

"Yeah, I'm looking for someone," Dean said. "He's tall, dark hair, blue eyes. When he talks he sounds kind of... weird. Have you seen him?"

"No, sorry. Your friend, does he have a name?"

A light moved across her, like a watch face reflecting onto her. It moved back and forth deliberately, like a signaling mirror.

"Yeah. You sure you haven't seen him?" 

If she was a demon, she would've attacked by now. So Dean nicked his index finger and put his hand against the building, like he was leaning on it for support.

"Not that I'm aware of," she replied.

"You, uh, live here?" Dean asked, indicating the warehouse she was about to enter.

"Sure, I've lived in worse."

"Alone?"

"You looking for your friend or someone to rob?" she asked.

"So, alone."

"You should go." 

She pulled the door open. He grabbed her arm.

"Hey," he said. "If you haven't seen him, why is his phone is in your pocket?"

She gave him a small smile before reaching up to touch his forehead. Dean yanked on her arm to put her off-balance, but it didn't do much. She broke his grip and produced her angel blade.

"Guess we're doing this the hard way," she said. 

She thrust at his neck, but he dodged it and got his hand around the blade.

"Sorry, not this time," Dean said as he pressed the palm of his hand against the sigil he'd made on the wall.

"NO!" 

She dropped her own blade as she was blown away. Dean armed himself with it and ducked into the warehouse, not sure what to expect. That sigil could've hit Castiel, too.

"CAS!" Dean yelled. "Cas!"

"Over here." 

Still in his trench coat, Cas was bound to a chair with a measure of rope. Dean started cutting him free.

"Got yourself a new girlfriend?"

"Hael," Cas replied. "She wanted my vessel. Hers is presently melting."

"She's probably not the only one. Did you do that on purpose? The signaling thing with the light?"

"Jimmy used it when he was courting his wife. He'd wait outside her family home, and she'd signal him with her watch in a similar manner."

"Old school."

"Does the age of the school apply?"

"Never mind, can you zap us back to the car?"

"No, I don't... Metatron took my Grace, Dean," Cas replied. "I'm not an angel anymore."

"Okay, well, let's get the hell out of here. We can figure the rest out on the road."

He cut through the last of the rope, and Cas stood up, free.

"I'll take the blade."

"What?"

"Metatron took my weapon when he sent me back to earth," Cas explained. "Let me have that one."

"I'll hold on to it." 

"Powers or no powers, Dean, I am a solider. A good soldier. But right now I can't defend myself."

Dean handed the angel blade over, and Cas tucked it in his coat. For a moment, the two of them felt an odd kind of peace, something that the former angel could not explain.

"Where are we going?" Cas asked.

"Home."

* * *

**Meanwhile, at the Men of Letters Bunker...**  
Kevin Tran had set aside the tablet and his many scribbled notes. His head ached, and he couldn't do any more.

He liked Sam, and he certainly didn't wish him dead. But this past year, Kevin had dedicated himself to closing the Gates of Hell. He put himself and everyone he loved on the line for that mission. And why did it fail? Because Dean couldn't let his brother die.

It made Kevin's head hurt. 

Kevin had hid from Crowley for over a year without the Winchesters, and when they turned up and unleashed the King of Hell on him again, he didn't back down. He told them the truth about slamming the Gates of Hell shut forever. Had he never tried to defeat Crowley, he would probably still have a mother and an ex-girlfriend alive to worry about him.

But he did. It was the right thing to do. He put himself in the line of fire, basically guaranteeing his own death.

So why did the Winchesters back out? Because one of them would die? One more person needed to die to send every demon on the planet back to Hell. If Kevin had been the one doing the trials, he would've done it. He would've died to complete his mission.

Instead, Sam was now spitting up blood and shaking violently in the library, trying to find a way to cure himself. Kevin had a sneaking suspicion that Sam Winchester would soon be dead whether or not he finished the last trial.

"Kev," Sam said as he came into the war room.

"Yeah, Sam?"

"I wanted to ask you about Metatron."

"What about him?"

"He's just done something big. According to Cas – "

"Dean found him?" Kevin interrupted.

"Yeah, he's fine. Human now, apparently. Metatron used his Grace to cast all the angels out of Heaven."

"That's not good."

"No," Sam said. "But the thing is, this guy has been hiding in the mountains forever, reading books. He healed people in exchange for good stories."

"So?"

"Well, now he's in charge, the only angel in Heaven," Sam said. "It's not like he's got time for that anymore."

"If the Gates of Hell were closed, he probably would have had the time."

"Exactly," Sam said.

"What, you think you can trick him by promising him stories?"

"Actually, I was thinking, what if we could give him back his secrecy? Let him go back into the mountains with no one knowing he was there."

"If he cast the angels out of heaven, it was to punish them. Revenge for driving him out of his home."

"Right, but what if he only did it now because of the trials?" Sam asked. "He figures he can get his revenge and take over Heaven, right when there's no longer any opposition from Hell. Maybe being the only angel up only works for him so long as demons are in check."

"I guess. I mean, from what little I know about the guy, you could be right."

"So what if we went to him, told him, these past few years haven't been great stories. Not since the Apocalypse has fallen apart."

"Right, so all we have to do is change how the Apocalypse ended, what, four years ago?" Kevin asked sarcastically.

"Exactly."

"You serious?"

Sam nodded. He looked like pale death.

"Maybe you should sleep," Kevin replied.

"I'm serious. Dean and Cas will be here soon," Sam said. "So think about it. He gets to go back into the woods and read books with no one bothering him. We change everything."

"I'm sure there's some kind of paradox time-traveling thing that prevents you from doing that."

"Maybe, but we've time-traveled with angels before. They can do it. And right now, Metatron might be the only one who can help us with it."

"You're crazy. You know that?"

* * *

**New Harmony, Indiana. May 15, 2008.**  
"We must stop somewhere we can wash blood out of our clothing," Cas said.

"Don't worry about it, I can clean that up in the motel once we've gotten away from this place. I don't want anyone spotting us. Especially not Bobby."

"Do you think your brother succeeded?"

"Dunno," Dean replied. "But he hasn't called yet. So maybe he's still finishing up."


	3. Beneath the Skin

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dean, Sam, and Cas make pacts with two archangels, giving themselves a chance to stop the Apocalypse forever.

_There was a fire burning on earth._

_Whispers gathered as the angels did before. They asked, 'Why does this fire burn here? All the world has changed, yet here the ash is being laid. How long will it burn?' The words ran together as they were repeated:_

_'How long will it burn?'_

* * *

**Concordia, Kansas. June 15, 2013.**  
Cas supported Sam Winchester, keeping him upright as he slouched under his illness. He was a much heavier man than the former angel anticipated.

"You expect me to believe that you want to do this?" Metatron asked. "That you want to travel back in time for me?"

"No," Dean replied. "We want to travel back to end the Apocalypse right. It just happens to benefit you."

"I see," Metatron replied. "You know, I am intrigued. The idea of rewriting the story always is so tempting. But if I do agree, there are some constraints."

"Like what?" Sam asked.

"You can't rewrite the whole thing. So, no going back in time before you're born, or before the first seal is broken. Actually, let's make it the last seal."

"Fine," Dean said.

"And standard time rules apply," he replied. "As soon as you change something that irrevocably alters the future, you won't have long."

"What does that mean?" Sam asked. "Long for what?"

"Well, if you change the past enough, the person you are in the future will be completely different. Or dead. Imagine if Jess had never died, Sam. Imagine if your father was never a hunter. Would you be here now?"

"So what? If we change the future enough, we gradually fade away?" Dean asked.

"No, idiot. There will be a short period of time when the timeline can, for lack of a better word, correct itself. If it doesn't, this future version of yourself disappears forever."

"You mean we die?" Sam asked.

"Not sure. It's never been done before. At least not that anyone can remember," Metatron replied. "So, you got a specific time and place picked out? Not before the last seal was broken, you understand."

"Yeah," Dean said. "Sammy, when was it?"

"Munice, Indiana. Hotel parking lot," Sam said. "April 22, 2010."

"Interesting choice. You do bump into Lucifer then, don't you?" Metatron asked. "Gotta admit, I'm excited."

He waved his hand, and Sam's cough stopped. He stood up straight, surprised.

"Couldn't send you back like that," the archangel explained. "Now you should be fine. No promises, of course."

Then Metatron clapped his hands, and they disappeared.

* * *

**Muncie, Indiana. April 22, 2010.**  
Cas, Dean, and Sam crashed to the pavement outside a motel with the Impala parked out front.

"Ouch," Cas mumbled.

Dean hushed him as he pointed to the car. It was occupied. A younger Dean Winchester exiting, carrying an angel blade.

"Sam, can you handle this?" Dean asked. "Cas and I can find some wheels for us in case this thing goes sideways."

Sam nodded and ran for the Impala. Dean and Cas took cover behind some cars.

"You believe Gabriel will help us?" Cas asked. "If I remember correctly, our last meeting with him before this was unpleasant."

"Yeah, well, he never wanted this fight to happen. He just didn't see a way out."

Silence filled the space between them.

"So, how are you?" Dean asked.

"My ass hurts," Cas replied.

"No, I mean, in general," Dean said. "Been, what? Two weeks since you lost your wings."

"I'm fine."

"Because being human isn't easy."

"I've been human before. It's fine."

"Okay."

"It's odd," Cas said. "Being completely human. Feeling something all the time. Hunger. Pain. Hot. Cold. If not that, than a hundred other things. Constantly."

"Yeah, well, you get used to it," Dean said. "Mostly."

"I'm hoping I won't have to," Cas mumbled.

"What?"

"I'm expecting us to succeed. If we do, then I won't need to get used to being human."

"In the meantime, though, you'll get used to it," Dean repeated.

He put his hand on Cas's shoulder in a way he thought would be reassuring. Their eyes met, and Cas smiled.

"Hope we're not breaking anything up," Gabriel said as he and Sam joined them.

"Dude, keep your voice down," Dean replied.

"They can't hear us," Gabriel explained. "Time bubble."

"Time bubble?" Sam asked. 

"Yeah. You told me I gave you a message on a DVD," Gabriel said. "How do you think I managed it then?"

"So we don't have to hide?" Dean asked.

"Don't get too comfortable," Gabriel replied. "I checked out Sam's story about the whole time travel thing, but that doesn't mean I should help you."

"You should," Cas said. "Had you helped us a few months ago in this timeline, the outcome would have been very different."

"Ah, the boy angel," Gabriel said. "Never mind about that. I just need to know one thing."

"What's that?" Sam asked.

"You two have a habit of screwing things up," the archangel replied. "Dunno about this guy, but since he's rolling with Winchesters, I'm assuming it's a third wheel made in Heaven."

"So what?" Dean asked.

"So what? What do you think your past selves will do if they bump into you knuckleheads?"

"They would likely shoot themselves with salt and iron rounds, cut or stab them with silver, and pour holy water over the remains," Cas replied. "Perhaps not in that exact order."

"My point," Gabriel replied. "You can't bump into your past selves or old buddies that knew you when. You're also gonna need to keep away from other hunters. People get wind that the Winchesters are in two places at once?" He let out a whistle. "That's not gonna go over well."

Sam replied, "We've got that covered."

"I'm assuming you'll fail and die horrible deaths," Gabriel continued nonchalantly. "But what the hell? I'll drop you off where Sammy boy here requested, but you'll have to do the rest on your own. That includes handling the younger me."

Gabriel snapped his fingers, and they vanished.

* * *

**Springfield, Ohio. February 15, 2007.**  
Sam and Dean dragged Cas to the rear of Crawford Hall Theatre. A tremendous amount of sound emanated from the place.

"What's going on?" Cas asked.

"This is when we first met Gabriel," Sam replied. "As the Trickster. Bobby helps us kill him, and we run off."

"But you didn't kill him."

"Hush," Dean said.

They waited in silence. Things went quiet. Then they heard running.

"That's us leaving," Sam whispered. "Out the front."

Cas strained to hear.

"Bobby, thanks a lot," younger Sam said.

"Hey, save it!" Bobby replied. "Let's just get the hell out of dodge before somebody finds that body."

"That's our cue," the older Sam said. "Cas, we need you to stay by the loading dock door. Don't let anyone come up, all right? No violence, just lie to anyone who tries to come in. Okay?"

"All right."

"Get inside if you think someone's gonna make a scene, okay?" Dean asked.

Cas nodded and took up his post.

Dean and Sam crept into the theatre. The only sound in the entire building was the soft crunch of someone chewing. Occasionally a wrapper would crinkle. 

Dean wondered how a guy could eat at a time like this, but he remained silent as he went for the backstage stairs. He found them, and he climbed until he reached a set of ladders that ladders that went straight up into the clouds, which overlooked the entire theatre. He crawled into position and pulled out his slingshot.

There he was, the Trickster. His fake body had already disappeared. He surveyed the room, as if trying to figure out what went wrong, and all the while he ate candy bars.

_"Seriously?" Dean's voice echoed. "You couldn't have looked that up before we staked him?"_

_"You could've done some research for a change," Sam spat back. "Let's just go burn the body so we can leave."_

The Trickster raised an eyebrow at that. Then he disappeared. 

Dean put on his holy-fire specs. What he saw made his eyes water.

The Trickster followed the whispering voices of Sam and Dean Winchester, stopping at an old tape recorder, which was just behind the first wing of the stage.

Dean snapped the slingshot, which struck and ignited the Holy Oil instantly. 

"What the hell?" the Trickster said as fire erupted around him. 

Sam rounded the stage and shouted up to Dean, "Smoke detectors are jammed. Should give us enough time."

Dean removed his goggles and climbed down to join them.

"Gabriel," Sam said to the still-invisible angel. "We know you're there. And we can see if you if we want, it's just uncomfortable."

The Trickster balked at the sound of his name. No one had called him Gabriel in a very long time.

"Seriously?" Dean said. "Dude, we know. Archangel."

"Witness protection," Sam added.

Dean chuckled and added, "We even know about that thing you had with Kali. She was all hands."

"This is Holy Oil," Sam said conversationally. "In case you were wondering."

"Means you try and cross it, you're crispy fried."

The Trickster materialized and asked, "You two high or something?"

"Tell you what," Dean said, "you cross out of this circle of flame without dying, and we'll call it our bad."

"How did you find out?" Gabriel demanded. "And what's wrong with you two? Looks like you aged a decade in the past five minutes."

"First of all, it's six years," Dean corrected. "And we figured it out during the Apocalypse."

"Huh, so you're what? Here to right all the wrongs?" The Trickster asked. "Gonna stop the Apocalypse, big boys? News flash: best-case scenario, all that'll happen is it'll be delayed a decade or two. That's how it works."

"Bleak outlook," Dean said. "I like it."

Cas ran in and said, "There are several people outside in a red truck. I believe they came because of a fire."

"Let's say I believe you," The Trickster said. "What exactly do you want from me?"

"We want to stop the Apocalypse," Sam replied.

"You mean delay the damn thing."

"No," Sam said. "We mean stop it, forever."


	4. Night Again

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Knowing Crowley has no desire to see Lucifer walking the earth, the Winchesters rope the Crossroads demon in to their plan.

_There was a fire burning on earth._

_The humans nearest to the fire carried a heaviness, like they were weighed down in rising water. But even as they sank lower into the depths, the flames rose into the sky._

* * *

**Stull, Kansas. February 15, 2007.**  
Dean and Sam appeared in a deserted part of Stull, Kansas with their bags at their feet.

"Where's Cas?" Dean asked.

"Maybe Gabriel wanted some time, brother to brother or something?"

"Screw this, I'm calling him."

Dean tried Cas's phone.

"Dean, his phone is from twenty-thirteen."

"We're in two thousand seven, not the stone age."

Sam said, "I already checked. The burners from twenty-thirteen don't get reception. The technology they use doesn't exist yet."

"You didn't mention it till now? How we gonna call Cas?"

"As soon as we get a chance, we'll get him one of the older phones."

Cas suddenly appeared in front of them.

"I understand," Cas mumbled. 

"What?" Sam asked.

"Dean has always hated 'zapping around.' Now I understand why. It is deeply unsettling as a human."

"What did Gabe hold you up for?" Dean asked.

Cas shrugged. "I believe he was, as you would say, 'just screwing with me.'"

"We can talk later," Sam said. "Right now, we need transportation and a place to crash."

"And food," Dean added.

"I'll find us a motel that current-us would never spot," Sam said. "You two get us a car and some food."

"I have no money," Cas said. 

"Relax, we're gonna boost a ride," Dean said. "This is your lucky day. I'm gonna teach you how to hot wire a car."

* * *

**Mt. Vernon, Illinois. May 15, 2008.**  
Dean hung up his phone.

"You should have let me answer," Cas said. "Talking on the phone while driving can get us pulled over."

"Don't be a soccer mom about it."

"I don't know what that means."

"Never mind," Dean said. "Sammy said there's a problem."

"The trial?" Cas asked. "Did it work?"

"I don't know. He didn't say. He just asked us to get us back to the Bunker."

Dean pulled into the next gas station to fill up.

"Can you handle the pump, Cas?"

"Very well."

Dean walked into the bathroom. He hoped that he wouldn't have to do this, but he had just bathed in the blood of a hellhound. Technically, he had completed the first trial.

"Kah na ahm darr," he said, reading aloud from a scrap of paper from his pocket.

He buckled as his body lit up like a Christmas tree. Pain throbbed through him. 

It stopped.

He stood up straight and washed his face. He felt a little feverish, but otherwise he was fine.

Dean returned to the car.

"Hey," he said to Cas as he handed off the keys. "Drive as far as you can. Don't push it. Get us a motel room as soon as you're feeling a little tired. Got it?"

"You look very ill." 

Dean's left knee buckled, and he staggered to the passenger-side. Cas helped him into the back seat.

"Shouldn't we get a doctor?" Cas asked.

"No, I'm fine," Dean said. "Just drive."

* * *

**About an hour ago in Concordia, Kansas. May 15, 2008.**  
Sam sliced his hand open and spoke the words, "Exorcizamus te, omnis immundus spiritus, hanc animam redintegra, lustra."

Crowley struggled in his restraints as the hunter clapped his palm over his mouth.

Lightning went through both of them: orange and white and terrifying. Crowley felt something dissolve as the blood touched his lips, his tongue. His body became smaller. His mind shrunk.

He was human.

Sam Winchester tried to stand up straight as he said the words of the final trial: "Kah na ahm darr."

Nothing happened.

"What's going on?" Crowley demanded. "What's happened?"

Sam tried the spell again. His body burned with the same old pain, but beyond that, nothing else occurred.

He pulled out his phone to call his brother.

"Sam! Tell me what's going on!" Crowley protested.

"I don't know yet."

"You don't know? You just took away all my sodding powers, and now you don't know if you've done the job?"

"That's what I just said." 

"Curse the day I agreed to help you! Why did I ever sign on with you miserable Winchesters?"

* * *

**Stull, Kansas. March 15, 2007.**  
Dean and Sam finished burying the box. They lit a match and threw it down to ensure they'd get the right crossroads demon to come running.

Crowley appeared.

"To what do I owe the honor?" he asked.

"We got a deal for you," Sam said. 

"Can't say I'm surprised. The Winchesters eventually all do deals. Which one of you gentlemen is offering your soul?"

"Neither," Dean replied. "This is more of a business arrangement."

Crowley laughed. "Summon me when you're ready to deal."

He tried to teleport. He couldn't. He looked down. He was standing in a Devil's Trap about thirty feet in diameter. 

"You know about yellow eyes? Azazel?" Dean asked. "His little plan to let the big bad archangel out of his jail cell in hell?"

"Just a fairy story us demons tell one another."

"We know you're not that stupid," Sam said. "He's been putting things in motion for decades. Right about now, crossroads demons are getting a lot of pull because, for him, you're part of the next step."

"What of it?"

"We know you've got no love for Lucifer," Dean said. "Because if he takes over, he'll fight the fight, sure. But once that's all said and done, the demons won't be of any use to him, now will they?"

"Right, you expect me to help you derail a demonic plot? Lead by Azazel?" Crowley asked. "I've got a better idea: no. I want to survive, if you don't mind."

"All you have to do is answer my call," Dean said. "The younger version of me. In a couple of months, he's going to summon a crossroads demon and want to deal."

"And you want me to make it? If you think killing the dealer will save your soul, you're dead wrong."

"All we need you to do is add a little loophole. The kind that no one else would bother to check besides you," Sam said. "You show up, make a hard deal with Dean when he calls, and we make sure you out-live Azazel."

"And Alastair," Dean added for good measure. "And Lilith and whoever else is down in the pit, waiting to be sprung."

"Huh," Crowley said. "The younger you? Time travel. Interesting. Tell me, how do you plan on saving me?"

"We lock Lucifer and Michael in the Cage," Dean said. "With Mikey down there, there's no Apocalypse. Hell stays hell."

Sam added, "Oh and since all the top guns get killed off in the fray, someone like you is in line for a promotion."

"Let me guess, then you kill me," Crowley said.

"Put it down in the contract," Dean replied. "If any Winchester kills you, we're screwed."

"I'll think about it," Crowley said. "But if I take a stake in your venture, I'm a full partner. I know what's going on and when. You understand?"

"So we got ourselves something to shake on?"

"Let me out first."

Sam broke the Devil's Trap. Before either could respond, Crowley grabbed both of them and kissed their cheeks. Then he vanished.

* * *

**Blue Springs, Missouri. May 15, 2008.**  
After eight hours on the road, Cas pulled into a motel in Blue Springs. He texted Sam. Then he propped Dean up and helped him into their motel room.

He took cool water and a washcloth to put over Dean's forehead. He looked worse than before.

"Cas?" Dean said. 

"We've stopped for the night," Cas replied.

"You should get some sleep."

"You have a fever."

"I'm fine."

"I had to nearly carry you to the bed. You're not fine," Cas replied. "Shut up and let me help you."

Dean grabbed Cas's wrist and protested, "You need sleep, too."

Cas stared into Dean's eyes and replied sincerely, "I will once you fall asleep."

Dean let go, and Cas continued. He checked all of Dean's injuries: the stitches he had from a few days ago along his inner thigh, the superficial cut on his chest, the scratches down his arms.

Dean drifted off to sleep, mumbling, "Glad I met you Cas. You should know that. Damn glad."

* * *

**Stull, Kansas. February 15, 2007.**  
Dean and Cas scouted for a good car to boost.

Dean received a text message.

"Sam got us a motel for the night. One of us is gonna have to sleep on a cot."

"Not me," Cas replied. He indicated an older Taurus and asked, "What about this car?" 

"Good pick," Dean replied. "Keep a lookout, will you? It'll take a minute to hotwire."

Cas nodded.

After a few minutes of tinkering, a thin man in overalls headed into the parking lot. It looked like he was heading toward the Taurus.

"Dean," Cas whispered. "Someone's coming."

"Distract him! GO!"

The former angel, having no idea what to do, ran over to the man and crashed headlong into him.

"What the hell!" the guy said. Then he saw Cas and he added, "You okay?"

"No! NO!" Cas replied. "There's a man with a machete in the parking lot. He just jumped out at me from behind a car and started slashing, look!" 

He lifted his shirt to show a cut he received a few days ago. "Look!" 

"Calm down."

"Calm down? He's still there! We need to run!"

"Hey, I'll call 911, just come with me," the man said. 

Cas followed until he heard a car start. 

"That's my ride," Cas said.

The man turned, confused, and Cas punched him in the face before running back to the car.

"Did you just punch that guy?" Dean asked

"Yes, his head was harder than I thought. My hand hurts."

Dean laughed. "Sometimes, Cas, I'm just damn glad I met you."

As they pulled away, the man chased after them. 

"Maybe you should call Sam and let him know this car is kinda hot," Dean replied. "We might have to drive straight to the Bunker."

Cas's heart began to race with anticipation. He didn't know why.

"Cas? You okay?"

"I'm good," he replied. "I mean, I'm very well."

* * *

**Blue Springs, Missouri. May 16, 2008.**  
Dean woke up. He squinted at the clock. It was five in the morning. He had been tossing and turning all night, so he gave up on sleep.

He put on a fresh pair of boxers and went into the bathroom. 

"Dean?"

"Yeah, Cas, I'm in the bathroom. I could use a shower."

Cas's heart began to race.

* * *

**Springfield, Ohio. February 15, 2007.**  
"Name the place," The Trickster said. "You can't stay here, so close to your current selves."

"Stull, Kansas," Sam replied.

The Trickster snapped his fingers, and Sam and Dean disappeared.

"Now you," he said, "you are interesting. What's your name?"

"Castiel." 

"An angel but not an angel."

"My Grace was stolen. I'm human now."

"You know, that's not a great story. You should work on that."

"I don't understand."

"You know who I am?" he asked.

"Gabriel."

"Well, baby bro, this whole favor thing comes at a price. Specifically from you."

"What price?"

* * *

**Blue Springs, Missouri. May 16, 2008.**  
"How are you?" Cas asked from the bedroom.

"I'm fine," Dean replied from the bathroom. "Don't worry."

Dean started the shower, and Cas came into the bathroom. 

"You don't look well."

"I'm fine. I just need to wash up."

Cas got into the shower first. When Dean didn't follow, he poked his head out.

"Are you coming?"


	5. Door to Dreams

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Crowley offers Bela Talbot a revised deal as part of the plan to upturn the Apocalypse. Conflict arises between Dean and Cas over collecting a powerful weapon.

_There was a fire burning on earth._

_It had started in the dead of night, in the hours just past midnight. Humans had gathered wood with their bare hands. Sweat lead to splinters, and splinters lead to blood. Blood and sweat fed each tongue of flame._

* * *

**Men of Letters Bunker. May 16, 2008.**  
Sam felt like hell. His body ached. His mind raced. Dean told him that they'd already killed Lilith. As the final seal, her death was one of those paradox things. That meant that they didn't have much time.

And Crowley would just not shut up.

Dean and Cas returned.

"You!" Crowley said. "You failed to mention that my part in this would make me human!"

"They failed to tell me that as well," Cas replied.

"Focus, people. Sam, what went wrong?" 

"Nothing. He's human," Sam said, pointing a thumb at Crowley. "Trust me. He's done nothing but bitch since."

"So you finished the last trial, you said the spell, and nothing happened?"

"No, things happened," Sam said. "I feel worse than ever. The Cure worked, but that's it. The Gates aren't closed."

"How do you know?" Crowley asked. "Maybe they are. It's not like we'd have any way to know!"

"We would know," Cas replied.

"Also, got a line from a contact of dad's out west," Dean said. "Several demon attacks in California as of this morning."

Cas said, "I think the problem is you haven't done the first two trials."

"Yes, I have!"

"Not yet," Cas explained. "Technically, you don't do them until two thousand and thirteen. That's probably why Metatron was so willing to send us back in time."

"That makes sense, but it also means we're screwed," Dean said. "We've only got a day or two to get our shit together. Crowley, we need to get in contact with a rouge reaper."

"Rough reaper?" Crowley repeated in disbelief. "Please."

"You knew where they were in the future, so I assume you know where they are now," Dean insisted.

Cas said, "That was after the Apocalypse fell apart. Between the Civil War in Heaven and Purgatory being opened up, reapers began to rebel."

"What is this one on about?" Crowley asked. "You're mad, the lot of you!"

"Look, as of right now, we only have a few days to do the first two trials," Dean said. "One isn't a big deal, killing a hellhound and bathing in its blood."

"Not a big deal?" Crowley said incredulously. "You can't even see them!"

"Relax," Sam said. "The other trial is gonna be harder."

"What bloody idiotic thing could that be?!"

"Freeing an innocent soul from hell," Cas said casually. "Which was difficult even with a reaper's help."

"Oh, this is... how on earth did I get stuck with you lot?"

"You're already screwed," Dean said. "So get on board and help us, or get ready for round two in hell."

"And you couldn't mention any of this yesterday?" Crowley demanded.

Dean asked, "Why would yesterday make a difference?"

* * *

**New York, New York. May 15, 2007.**  
Bela Talbot pulled up in a ridiculous car, dressed to the nines. She handed her keys to the valet and strolled into Elements, a high-end restaurant in the middle of Manhattan.

"Miss Talbot?" the man behind the front desk said. "Mister Crowley is waiting for you."

He led her to a table on a platform overlooking the rest of the restaurant.

"Mr. Crowley?" she asked.

"Miss Bela Talbot," he said. "Please, sit."

"I reviewed your offer," Bela said. "Sounds too good to be true."

"Does it?"

"I've only a year left before my contract comes due, and now I have a white knight swooping in."

"Hardly," he said. "I am in dire need, otherwise this offer wouldn't be on the table to begin with."

"And you're willing to forgive my debt if I do this?"

"Forgiveness isn't in my nature. No, darling, this is business. I need a cold-hearted bitch who can find me rare items without asking a lot of stupid questions or attracting unnecessary attention."

"You've had experience with this, I take it."

"Demons tend to lack subtlety," Crowley said. "The smart ones do their best to stay out of this line of work. So, are you interested?"

"Why me?"

"You?" Crowley asked. "Well, you've come highly recommended when it comes to acquiring unique objects, love. You've pissed off the right people, but you're still alive. I like that. Finding, coercing, pilfering."

"Still sounds too good to be true."

"Well, if you die in the next year, your contract is still binding, and your soul goes to hell. But, if you survive and run my errands, your contract is done. Your soul is your own again."

Bela didn't reply. She desperately wanted this to be true; she had spent the better part of nine years making herself a valuable asset so someone might offer her a deal just like this one.

"Don't forget, this year's a leap year," Crowley added. "So I'm also screwing you out of a day on top of it all."

She smiled. "I want to see that in writing. All of it."

"Oh, I do love this part."

* * *

**Men of Letters Bunker. May 16, 2008.**  
"If it was yesterday, than the scrappy Miss Talbot would still be in the palm of my hand!" Crowley shouted.

"She still is," Cas said.

"No, not since midnight last night," Dean replied.

"Can't we just lie to her?" Cas asked.

Sam shrugged. 

"Except I already destroyed her contract. And I'm not a demon anymore!" 

"I'll go," Cas said. "You've not met with her since she signed on with you. It would be odd for you to do so now."

"So, you contact Bela and tell her to do whatever it is you were thinking of," Sam said. "Cas can collect."

"Collect what?" Dean asked. "It's not like Bela can just pull a soul out of hell."

"No, no, there's a spell," Crowley said. 

"Sonovabitch!" Dean said. "A spell? There's a _spell_?"

"There isn't one," Sam said. "Trust me, we looked."

"The spell calls innocent souls from Hell. They get close to the surface," Crowley said. "It's the closet thing I've got to saving one."

"Huh, so the spell gets the souls closer to us," Dean said. "All we have to do catch and release."

"What about this one?" Crowley pointed to Castiel. "Doesn't he have powers?"

"No, I don't," Cas replied.

* * *

**Union, Kentucky. February 22, 2007.**  
Dean parked the junker they stole outside a field.

"Where is this?" Cas asked.

"You'll see." 

They walked quickly across the field. Cas felt an odd sensation, like he had been here before. They stopped a few feet from a tree.

"Go on," Dean said, pushing him toward it.

Castiel walked over to it and stood in front of the magnificent tree, feeling true awe in his mortal body for the first time. He realized then why Dean recruited him for this mission and why they came here without Sam.

"Trust me," Dean said.

"This is why you brought me here?" Cas asked. "You gave me your word – your word, Dean – that this was about finishing our work, saving the world."

"This is our ace in the hole, Cas. Metatron doesn't know about it," Dean replied. "That is what this mission is about!"

Cas replied, "No, this isn't about the fight. This is about your fear. You can't ask me to do this."

And so the two soldiers faced one another, all their history building the walls between them as the Apocalypse came closer.

* * *

**Men of Letters Bunker. May 16, 2008.**  
Crowley said, "You had powers yesterday. Don't act like you didn't!"

"Those were not mine."

"Well, they weren't a demon's powers, either!" 

"No, they weren't." 

"Can it, both of you!" Dean shouted.

Sam laughed.

"What's funny?" Crowley asked.

"We don't need a supernatural assist on this one," Sam said. "Set up the collection with Bela, Dean and I have the rest."

Crowley got uncomfortably close to Sam. "Do. Not. Leash. A. Reaper. Do you understand me?"

"We won't," Sam said.

"You can't bargain with them, either," Crowley said. "Bloody nobs, the lot of them."

"We've got something better than a reaper," Sam explained. "With your spell, we bring the souls to the door. All we gotta do is open it, and we've got what we need to make that happen."

"What's that?" 

"A key," Sam replied simply.


	6. Death and Pain and Sin

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bela Talbot pilfers the Colt per Crowley's request. Gabriel warns Cas that his aid comes with a price. Bela drops off Crowley's final demands before her contract is torn up.

_There was a fire burning on earth._

_As the wood and blood became ash, the ground became purified. It was not the fire but the vigil that made this a place set apart, sacred. Here, on this spot, a battleground became heaven on earth._

_'How long will it burn?'_

* * *

**Pittsburg, Pennsylvania. February 7, 2008.**  
"Hey, you guys seen Bela? She's not in her room. She's not answering her phone," Dean said.

Sam replied, "She must've taken off or something."

"Just like that? It's a little weird." 

Bobby said, "Yeah well, if you ask me what's weird is why she helped us in the first place."

"I thought you saved her life," Dean said.

Bobby looked at both of them, confused. "What the hell are you talking about?"

Dean said, "The thing in Flagstaff."

"That thing in Flagstaff was an amulet. I gave her a good deal, that's all."

Sam was the one who asked. "Well, then why did you – "

"You boys better check your pockets," Bobby said, interrupting. "Not literally."

Dean ran to the safe. "No, no, no! No!"

It was empty. 

"The Colt," Sam said miserably. "Bela stole the Colt."

"Damn it, boys!"

"Pack your crap," Dean said.

"Why? Where're we going?" Sam asked.

"We're gonna go hunt the bitch down."

* * *

**Monument, Colorado. February 21, 2008.**  
Dean and Sam broke into the apartment and started riffling through everything. The room's phone rang. They traded glances.

The older Winchester picked it up. 

"Dean? Sweetie, are you there?" Bela asked.

"Where are you?"

"Two states away by now."

"Where?"

She said, "Where's our usual quippy banter? I miss it."

"I want it back, Bela... now."

"Your little pistol, you mean? Sorry, I can't at the moment."

"You understand how many people are gonna die if you do this?"

"What exactly is it that you think I plan to do with it?"

Dean replied, "Take the only weapon we have against an army of demons and sell it to the highest bidder."

"You know nothing about me," she said. She almost sounded hurt.

"I know I'm gonna stop you."

"Tough words for a guy who can't even find me."

"Oh, I'll find you, sweetheart. You know why? Because I have absolutely nothing better to do than to track you down."

"That's where you're wrong. You're about to be quite occupied."

Dean cast a significant look at his brother. 

She continued, "Did you really think I wouldn't take precautions?"

Police burst into the room, guns at the ready. 

"Hands in the air!"

"On your knees!"

Dean and Sam raised their hands above their heads and the line disconnected.

* * *

**Meanwhile, two states away...**  
Bela pulled up to a hazardous-looking cafe. She spotted the man in the trench coat, Crowley's special gopher, just inside the back door.

She slipped in and joined him at the table. She passed him the Colt under the table.

"Those Winchesters will kill me when they find me. Is that Crowley's plan?"

"The Winchesters won't kill you," the man replied.

"Is that right?"

"I would advise you to avoid them for the next year," the man replied.

* * *

**Lawrence, Kansas. May 17, 2008.**  
Dean paced as the tattoo artist worked on Crowley.

"I don't need a baby sitter," Crowley sniped. 

"I'll be the judge of that."

"Fine!" the former demon yelled. "Do I really need more than one?"

"Stops them from cutting off your leg to possess you."

Crowley shook his head. "This is ridiculous."

"You gotta be sideways and still," the tattoo artist said to Crowley. 

He rolled onto his side. Dean stared at the first tattoo Crowley had gotten on his left calf.

* * *

**Lawrence, Kansas. February 21, 2007.**  
"I need this tattoo," Cas said, showing his leg to the artist, "on my torso."

"You got a picture of it?" the artist asked.

"It's right here. Why would I need a picture?"

"This guy a friend of yours?" the artist asked Dean, who was hovering nearby.

"I'm footing the bill," Dean replied.

"He's moral support," Cas said at the same time.

If the tattoo artist was put off by it, he didn't show it. He cleaned the area and began working. Cas winced as the needled worked.

"Where is Sam?" Cas asked.

"Supply run. When we're done, we'll go meet him."

"I don't need a baby sitter," Cas said.

"It's better if we stick together. Besides, you and me have another errand after this."

"What's that?"

"You'll see."

* * *

**Madison, Indiana. That night.**  
Cas sat on his bed in the motel room as Dean wrapped up his call.

"We're crashing for the night, Sam," Dean said into the phone. "We'll be headed back your way, be there tomorrow night. Right, bye."

"Where are we going?" Cas asked.

"Trust me."

"You're being mysterious."

"Nah. You should sleep."

"I sleep fine." 

Dean sat on the other bed, opposite from Cas. "No, you don't," he said.

"I do."

Cas stared at Dean. His heart rate accelerated. 

"Cas, it's me."

In a moment of desire and confusion, Cas pulled Dean into an awkward, but quite spectacular, kiss. Dean's hands traced Cas's face. They kissed again.

Then they broke apart. 

Dean stood up. "Cas, do you even know what you're doing? You haven't been human that long..."

* * *

**Springfield, Ohio. February 15, 2007.**  
Castiel and Gabriel were alone.

"Well, baby bro, this whole favor thing comes at a price. Specifically from you."

"What price?"

"How long have you been human?" Gabriel asked.

"About two weeks."

"So just long enough."

"For what?"

"Oh, you'll see. Here's the deal: I'll keep up my end of this bargain, and you're gonna keep up your end."

"What is 'my end'?" 

"Follow your impulses," Gabriel replied. "Listen to your gut, your human instincts and drives. And you're gonna follow them. You can do that, right?"

"I don't know."

"Well, if you don't, this whole plan of yours falls apart."

"I don't understand."

"Good thing you don't have to, then."

Gabriel sent a ball of glowing something straight into Cas's chest. It felt like he had been struck by lightning.

* * *

**Madison, Indiana. February 21, 2007.**  
Cas stood up to face Dean.

"You've been human for over thirty years. And you still don't know what you're doing."

"That's not what I mean!"

"It is," Cas replied. He got closer. "It is exactly what you mean."

"Don't do this..."

Cas kissed him again.

* * *

**Lawrence, Kansas. May 17, 2008.**  
"Dean! DEAN!" Crowley yelled.

Dean snapped out of his memory to see Crowley in his frumpy tracksuit.

"Your brother and Cas should have Bela's little gifts by now. Let's go!"

* * *

**Meanwhile, in Alva, Oklahoma**.  
Cas waited outside an abandoned warehouse for two hours before Bela pulled up. She had a shotgun across her lap.

"Why are you armed?" Cas asked.

"I checked this place out before coming," she said. "You've hidden this place from everybody and everything. Any particular reason?"

"This is a safe house."

"For whom?"

"You. I recommend you stay here for the next week."

"No, I don't think so," she said.

"The past few days have been tumultuous. The supernatural world is in chaos." 

"Always is, isn't it?" Bela asked.

"But this time, it's worse. You need to hide."

"I can hide just fine." 

She made a high-pitched yelp when Sam jammed a needle into her neck. She collapsed into his arms.

"Told you we'd have to drug her," Sam said. 

"She is heavy," Cas said. "And you can't come in inside with me."

"Not without confusing the crap out of our guard," Sam agreed. "I'll be in the car."

Cas lifted Bela and carried her into the safe house, where Ash was fiddling with some computers.

"Hang on!" Ash said. "Is she dead?"

"Drugged," Cas replied casually. "It was necessary. You may have to lock her in."

Ash asked, "Seriously? How pissed is she gonna she be?"

"Incredibly."

* * *

**Men of Letters Bunker. Later that night.**  
Crowley and Dean waited until Sam and Cas returned. They had a rather large bag of Hoodoo and occult objects required for the spell.

"Before I tell you this spell," Crowley said. "I want assurances."

"'Course you do," Dean mumbled.

"If I'm stuck going with you, which I'm guessing is the case, since you've tatted me up. If that happens, I'll only go if we have this one," he indicated Cas, "in his powered-up mode."

"Why?" Sam asked.

"So someone can get my very mortal ass out of the line of fire!" Crowley shouted. 

"Very well," Cas replied. "There will be someone there who will ensure your, uh, very mortal ass."


	7. Two for Sympathy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Cas and Sam have a late night discussion about the last year together, specifically about how Cas handled a number of former Winchester allies such as Ash and Anna.

_There was a fire burning on earth._

_People gathered, though more slowly than the angels. Most came alone, but a few came in pairs. Though no human eye could perceive it, their minds could sense it, the purification. The sacred. Even humans, the most desperately curious of all God's creations, saw this fire and voiced none of their questions._

_'How long will it burn?'_

* * *

**Defiance, Ohio. March 3, 2007.**  
Cas approached the Milton Residence and knocked on the door. A young woman answered.

"Hello," she said. "Listen, my parents aren't home, so -"

Cas interrupted, "Anna, I'm here to see you."

"About what?"

"Don't you recognize me?"

"No, should I?"

Cas paused. "I know you might not believe me, but I know you, and you know me. I've come because something in your past puts you and your family in danger."

"I don't have a past," Anna said. "You should leave."

* * *

**Men of Letters Bunker. May 17, 2008.**  
Sam had books spread out across the war room. Cas wasn't sure if he was reading or sleeping in the book he had out.

"Sam?"

"What? Yeah," Sam replied. 

"You all right?"

"Yeah, I was just looking for anything that could help us with tomorrow."

"Sleep would be a better use of your time," Cas said.

"It occurred to me that we haven't had a chance to talk."

"We speak frequently."

"No, I mean..." Sam began. "Listen, every decision you've made for the past year has been about getting the job done. I appreciate that, but you ever think about what's next?"

"No."

"Cas, you're human. You've got human emotions. It's all right to want something for yourself."

"There is one thing I learned by being mortal."

"What?"

"You have to let people make their own decisions."

"You mean like Crowley?"

"Actually, I was speaking of Anna."

* * *

**Defiance, Ohio. March 3, 2007. ******  
"I don't have a past," Anna said. "You should leave."

"When you were two, you started saying your father was not your father," Cas said. "You began ranting that your real father was angry with you."

"How do you know that?"

"I can't explain," he replied. "But in less than two years, if you do nothing, your parents will be killed."

"Is that a threat?"

"No. I wouldn't hurt you, but you are in danger now because you don't know who you are, not really," Cas said. "I only came to warn you."

"Warn me of what?" she asked.

"I know you don't want to, but if you don't, your family will die."

"Do what?"

"Take this back," he said. He handed her a small vial of beautiful, translucent liquid, her Grace.

"What is this?" she asked as she took the vial. "It seems... familiar."

"That's because it's yours. It belongs to you."

"What does that mean?"

He shook his head and handed her a scrap of paper with an address and phone number.

"If you ever need to talk, you can call me," he said before he turned away. 

"Wait," Anna said. "Who are you?"

"An old friend," he replied over his shoulder.

* * *

**Men of Letters Bunker. May 17, 2008.**  
Cas continued, "Anyway, what Crowley said is true. We should get help."

"I thought Anna already agreed," Sam said.

"I mean, demonic help," Cas explained. "What if you have to do the trials in order? You'd have to do the third trial again."

"That would suck."

"We could capture a demon, but a better option would be someone who would fight with us, be on our side," Cas said. "Dean mentioned that you had a friendly demon around this time, didn't you?"

"She was a traitorous bitch."

Cas asked, "But before she showed her true colors, didn't she help you?"

"Yeah, Ruby," Sam replied. "So what? She knows Sam from this era, not me."

"She would be the best choice. She trusts the current version of you, and part of her role in things is to keep you alive."

"I might kill her on sight."

Cas's phone rang. "Hello?"

"Cas?" someone asked on the other end of the line.

"What is it, Ash?"

"There is a hellova lot of demonic activity," Ash replied. "Just wanted to give you a heads up!"

"Yes, thank you," Cas said as he hung up.

"I guess you're right," Sam commented.

"About what?"

"People making their own choices. I mean, somehow, you managed to save Ash."

* * *

**The Roadhouse. March 3, 2007.**  
Cas sat at the bar for a long time. Ellen threw him a few sideways glances, but she seemed to accept him sometime after his third beer.

"Hey there," Ash said as he plopped in the seat next to him. "You're new."

"I suppose," Cas replied.

"Jo said you wanted to talk to me."

"Uh, yes," Cas said. "John Winchester and I worked a case a while back. I heard you were in contact with him."

"Uh, big no on that one," Ash said.

"What about his sons?"

"What's it to you?" 

Cas turned to Ash. "Listen, the stuff John did didn't just get him killed. He was hunted. At war, you could say. I've been trying to reach out to his old contacts to warn them, so far, all of them are dead."

"Yeah, well, that's the game, isn't it?"

"Whatever the Winchesters have asked you to do, it's dangerous. It will get you killed."

"Don't I know it."

"No, not hypothetical. It will kill you."

"Huh," Ash said. "What do you recommend, then?"

"Play dead," Cas replied.

"I'm not a dog, though others might tell you otherwise."

"Then be careful who you speak to," Cas said. 

"Aw, shucks," Ash said. "I don't know you. So why do you think I'm gonna listen?"

Cas shrugged. "Can I get another beer, please?" he asked Ellen.

* * *

**Men of Letters Bunker. May 17, 2008.**  
Cas shrugged. He wasn't sure what Sam wanted, but he didn't like where this conversation was headed.

"I didn't," Cas said.

"You didn't?"

"I didn't save Ash. He saved himself."

* * *

**The Roadhouse. May 10, 2007.**  
"Listen, Dean. I did find something," Ash said into the phone.

"Well, what?" Dean asked.

"I can't talk over this line, Dean."

"Come on, I don't have time for this!"

"Make time, okay? Because this," he stopped as a customer walked by. He made eye contact and said, "What's up? What's going on?" Once the passerby was out of an earshot, he continued. "Not only does this almost definitely help you find your brother, this is, uhhhh, it's huge. So get here. Now."

He hung up. 

"Oh, it's you," Ash remarked as Cas dropped into the next seat.

"Can I get a bowl of pretzels?" Cas asked Ellen.

"A bowl?" she asked.

"Yes, the largest bowl you have." 

"All right," she said. "Weird SOB," she muttered as she left.

"You owe me your watch," Cas said to Ash.

"Is that right?"

"I've got the solution to your geographic puzzle."

"Hey, uh, Cas," Ellen said. "Sorry, we're outta pretzels. I'm gonna run right out and get'em. Ash, you mind keeping an eye on the place?"

"Sure thing," Ash said to Ellen. Then he turned to Cas, "You got a solution? Then lay it on me."

"You factored in barometric pressure incorrectly and also failed to include magnetic forces in the system," Cas said. "This algorithm can predict the weather with much higher accuracy."

Cas dropped a thick packet on the bar.

"Boy howdy, you're right," Ash said as he flipped through the pages. "This diagram here, where did it come from?"

"Years of observation."

"By the way, who's your friend?" Ash asked, pointing to the young woman who had been staring at Cas.

"Huh, she must've followed me here," Cas replied. "She's an old friend who can't remember me."

Ash laughed. "You're the weirdest hunter I've ever met. Rightfully yours," he said as he passed off his watch. "Use it wisely."

Cas put his prize on the counter. He turned to the young woman and asked, "Anna, would you like to join us?"

She hesitated. "I don't want to interrupt."

"Don't worry 'bout it," Ash said. "We're just talking about the weather."

Just as Anna joined them at the bar, the windows shattered inward. Fire erupted at every door, and black smoke filled the room.

"Get down!" Cas yelled.

Ash, Anna, and Cas hit the floor, and they half-crawled, half-rolled behind the bar. Ellen maintained salt lines around the serving area, but the attack had already scattered drinks and busted bottles, leaving an ever-growing puddle ready to dissolve their one line of defense.

"What's happening?" Anna asked.

"Damn demon attack," Ash replied. "Basically, we're screwed!"

"Demons?" Anna repeated.

"I'm so sorry, Anna," Cas said.

"What it this?" she asked, holding out the vial he had given her two months ago. "I mean, what happens when I use it? How do I use it?"

"Just smash it open!" Cas yelled over the sounds of slaughter.

There was a moment of indecision when Anna stared into Castiel's eyes, desperately afraid. Suddenly, she steeled herself, and in the next instant, she leapt over the bar and threw the vial to the ground.

"Ash, close your eyes!" Cas shouted.

Suddenly, a blinding light filled the Roadhouse as Anna became Anael, the angel. Her body exploded, and her essence evaporated the demons in a quarter-mile radius. Ash and Cas were thrown, hard, into the back of the bar. Glass was everywhere. 

Then everything stopped.

"Cas, you all right?" Ash asked as he got to his feet. "We might be the only ones. What was that?"

"Sorry," Cas said weakly. His hands slipped in his own blood as he grabbed at the long piece of wood that impaled him.

"Holy hell, man," Ash said. "You hang on in there. I'll get help, all right?"

A high-pitched sound cascaded around them, shaking what remained of The Roadhouse. Ash fell on his knees, grabbing his ears in pain.

"Yes, Anna!" Cas yelled at the sky. "I accept you!"

Mercifully, the sound ceased, and Cas stood. He touched Ash and all his injuries disappeared. Then he pulled the plank of wood from his own body, and his flesh restored.

"What's going on?" Ask asked. "How did you – "

Before he could finish the question, Cas collapsed.

"Cas? Man, come on! Wake up! Too much freaky shit just went down for you to leave me here alone."

Ash shook him until Cas opened his eyes.

"That was Anna," Cas explained as he got to his feet.

"Was?"

"She wanted to help, but it's better if she goes into hiding. It's... what is it that people say? A long story."

"Right, sure. We should leave before something else blows up."

"My car is down the road, it might've survived," Cas suggested. "Give me a minute."

Ash stumbled out of the Roadhouse wreckage. Cas considered the watch he won moments before nearly dying. It was singed. Perhaps time was not the best thing for him. He took it off, but he felt throwing it away would be a waste. He spotted a man's arm reaching out from under debris. With as much reverence as possible, he wrapped watch around the man's wrist before leaving.

* * *

**Men of Letters Bunker. May 17, 2008.**  
Sam shook his head. "Cas, you did plenty of saving."

"He chose to trust me," Cas replied.

"Yeah, and you saved him."

"Anna saved him. And me. And Ash saved Anna. I was just the middleman."

Sam began, "Cas – "

He interrupted, "Go to bed, Sam. You need sleep."

"No arguments here," Sam said. "What about you?"

"I require water," Cas replied. "I'll be back in bed once hydrated."


	8. A Half Truth

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alastair and Meg the Demon learn what became of Lilith. Bobby Singer desperately searches for a missing Dean and Sam, only to be interrupted by Rufus. Bela takes action when the talking boards warn her of Hell coming to earth. The Winchesters coerce Ruby into joining their cause.

_There was a fire burning on earth._

_Others were drawn to it. Phoenixes and shifters sparingly approached the gathering. Less daring monsters hid up trees or perched on distant vantage points, called to this site by nothing more than the silence that emanated from a marked moment in time. It was as if witnessing the flame somehow made each of them present a part of it all._

* * *

**Somewhere in Michigan... May 17, 2008.**  
Alastair arrived after Meg, who had gathered up a handful of lackeys. She had become a good soldier since her father died.

"I've got quite a lot of work ahead of me," Alastair said. "Tell me about Lilith."

The first lackey spoke, "Both Winchesters and an old man were there."

"What about that demon whore, Ruby?" Meg asked.

"No sign of her," another lackey replied.

"At some point, someone else arrived," the third minion said. "A powerful someone."

The first minion added, "Whoever it was crossed every barrier the Winchesters had established against demons and had a blade powerful enough to incapacitate Lilith."

"You mean the demon-killing knife?" Meg asked.

"No," Alastair replied. "That would only weaken Lilith. It must've been something else."

"She was wounded or killed," the second minion said.

"Which is it?" Alastair demanded.

"We don't know," the first replied.

"You don't know?" Alastair said. "Huh."

Meg smiled as he tore the demons to bits.

* * *

**Sioux Falls, South Dakota. May 17, 2008.**  
Bobby Singer was having the worst day of his life. He couldn't find the boys or any trace of them. From the looks of the house, the fight with Lilith had been grueling.

They were both probably dead.

He called every hunter he knew, but none answered. He left messages, but no one called him back.

Someone pounded on his door.

"All right, I'm coming!" 

"Let me in!" Rufus yelled.

"Ah, hell, what're you doing here?" Bobby asked as he opened the door.

"No time to explain, we gotta demon-proof the hell outta this place," Rufus replied as he pushed inside.

"What? Why?"

"Why do you think?"

"Wait," Bobby said, his mind finally catching up. "You're being chased by demons, and you're solution is to, what? Lead them straight here?"

"I figured you have that panic room, right?"

"Balls!"

* * *

**The next day in Sioux Falls...**  
They managed a half dozen exorcisms on demons stupid enough to get trapped, but everything had gone quiet hours ago. Bobby didn't like it.

To fill the silence, Bobby asked, "You ever gonna tell me what this is all about?"

"I guess I should, seeing as how you saved my ass again," Rufus replied. "I hooked up with this other hunter in Spokane. Alison Greenly. Thought it was a vampire nest, but it was demons."

"How bad?"

"Very bad. Alison and I ran for it. We had to split up, you know, to get reinforcements or something. Damn things followed me. Totaled my car for my trouble. Got most of my guns in the process, too. So I had to keep running, I'm – "

"Hush," Bobby interrupted. "You hear that?"

"Hear what?"

"Something's coming!"

They pointed their shotguns at different entry points to the room.

Someone cocked a third shotgun.

"Drop them, boys," Bela said. 

Somehow, she'd managed to come in behind them both.

"Bela. Still alive?" Bobby asked.

"Do be a dear and tell me where the Winchesters are."

"Hell if I know," he said. "Mind telling me where the hell you've been? Last I checked, you've been off the map for weeks."

* * *

**Alva, Oklahoma. May 17, 2008.**  
Bela woke up in an old warehouse. She was near a grungy man on his computer.

"Oh, hey," he said. "Name's Ash. You're Bela, right?"

"What do you want?" she asked.

"Nothing. I was asked to help you out, make sure you didn't get dead in the next few days. I pulled your car in for you."

"You mind if I get some things from my car?"

"Go fer it," Ash said. "But I got your starter, so don't even try to drive off."

Bela took the talking board from her trunk. The last thing the trench coat man said to her was that there was chaos in the supernatural world. Maybe she'd been too busy for the past month to notice.

The talking board channeled many voices, and they all said the same thing: DANGER.

"What kind of danger?" Bela asked.

THEY'RE OPENING THE GATE. YOU MUST STOP THEM. DON'T LET THEM DO IT.

Bela asked, "Why not?"

DEATH. TOO MUCH. HELL WILL COME TO EARTH. DON'T LET THEM.

"Anyone with that kind of power can't be stopped by me." 

YOU STOLE THE KEY TO THE DOOR BEFORE. YOU CAN DO IT AGAIN.

Bela hesitated to ask, "Who am I stopping?"

WINCHESTERS.

* * *

**Sioux Falls, South Dakota. May 18, 2008.**  
Bela pointed the gun at Bobby. "There's no time for a history lesson," she said. "I need to know where the Winchesters are because they're about to do something very stupid. Even more stupid than usual."

"I told you, I don't know," Bobby said. "I've been looking for those boys for over a day. For all I know they're captured."

"Or dead," Rufus added.

"They're not!" she yelled. "So why don't you – "

BOOM!

"That's one of our traps," Rufus said. "Bela, either run or kill us, because there's no time for anything else."

"He's right," Bobby said, aiming his gun. "Don't start, Bela, you're not worth my bullets. Not when we got demons at our doorstep."

"Damnit!" she said, crouching behind the desk for cover.

* * *

**Somewhere in Wyoming. May 18, 2008.**  
Sam and Dean were trying to convince Ruby to join the cause. With Lilith dead, Ruby was nothing more than a demonic traitor, Hell's own turncoat. Her only chance was with them.

She shrieked and wailed, cursing them for killing Lilith. The Winchesters had to trap her and tie her down before they could get a word in edgewise. 

Castiel took the opportunity to slip away and summon Gabriel.

"What up, homeboy?"

"You need to return the modern Winchesters to the real world. Demonic activity is on the rise," Cas replied.

"Seriously? You do know what those two knuckleheads will do, right?"

"No, and neither do you."

"The answer is still no."

"If you don't, I'll tell Anna of your existence. It won't take long for the entire Garrison to find out, and from there, even Michael will know," Cas said.

"You wouldn't."

"I would."

"I can make you disappear."

"Yes, you could. So, what next? The Winchesters returned, me contacting Anna, or me disappearing?"

"Seriously?"

"Those were the options, were they not?"

Gabriel sized Cas up. 

"Fine. They're back with that crotchety man they brought with them to fight Lilith. You happy now?"

"No."

"Oh, baby," Gabriel said with a knowing glint in his eye. "I think you are, snuggles."

* * *

**Sioux Falls, South Dakota. May 18, 2008.**  
Sam and Dean Winchester were currently detectives in dark sunglasses making smarmy comments over a dead body.

Then, suddenly, they were dropped into the middle of Bobby Singer's living room. Blood and guts were everywhere. Devil's traps were scrawled around the house. 

"Sam? Dean? Where the hell have you two been?" Bobby asked.

"TV land," Dean replied. "Don't ask."

"I say we put them in the panic room," Rufus suggested. "Till we figure out if they're Sam and Dean."

"Rufus?" Sam asked. "This place is a mess. What's going on?"

"I can ask you the same thing," Bela said. She was covered in something thick and chunky.

"You bitch," Dean said.

* * *

**Somewhere in Michigan... May 18, 2008.**  
"Alastair, I have a location," Meg said.

"From where?"

"Talking boards. Apparently several spirits are concerned about the Devil's Gate in Wyoming."

Alastair smiled. "We've got an army just for this," he said. "And they're ready for some bloodshed."

"There is one problem: one interstate Devil's Trap."

"That was destroyed over a year ago."

"It's been repaired," Meg said. "It must've taken months, but the last repair was quite recent. I've venture a guess and say it was days old. Prevented us from catching it sooner. I'm almost impressed." 

"Don't you dare fail me."

"I said almost impressed," Meg replied. "Isn't it just my luck, the king of the crossroads dropped off the map. Haven't been able to find him for days. Without Crowley around, all those contracts are up for grabs. Which means we've got a lovely pool of expendable assets we can tap into right now."

"Use 'em up and let them burn," Alastair commanded.

* * *

**Somewhere in Wyoming. May 18, 2008.**  
Crowley was visibly uncomfortable. "This is a terrible idea."

"Perhaps," Cas replied.

"So, what? You bullocks up the first foolish plan, and now you're scrambling for a quick fix?"

"We did have over a year to prepare for Plan B," Cas explained. "We restored the iron tracks to repair the Devil's Trap that covers the Gate. We added warding and traps to the railroad lines and an alarm system to alert us when those protections are breeched."

Crowley had been gradually changing color from pale to bright red with anger. 

"Plan B?" he repeated. "Plan B? You had a plan B?! So you knew this could happen?"

"It was a... concern."

Before the former demon could respond, Dean and Sam dragged Ruby over.

"We've gotta split up," Sam said. "Crowley, you and Ruby are with me."

"Why?" Crowley asked.

"Because we're gonna need a few things so we don't die horrible deaths," Dean replied.

"And it's gonna take time to get Ruby in past all our safeguards," Sam added. "It takes two humans to get it done."

"Crowley?" Ruby asked. She looked at the Winchesters. "You weren't just pulling my chain? You made him human again?"

"Don't look so happy, love, it's not a great experience."

Dean spoke loudly to ensure everyone's attention. "All right! Step one, shut the hell up and survive the next day."

"Right, we meet up in the graveyard by the Gate before dusk. That gives us six hours," Sam said.

"Don't be late," Dean said.


	9. Garden of Good and Evil

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dean and a newly human Castiel start an unconventional relationship as they try to prevent the Apocalypse from ever happening. They take a few hours together before the next big battle.

_There was a fire burning on earth._

_Dawn came with its weak blue light as the fire began to burn out. Angelic whispers and waning starlight turned the whole world a dull gray, so bleak that even the birds abandoned their sweet morning melodies._

_This fire commemorated an event of enormous magnitude, as it rightly should, but for every such event, a hundred thousand other moments contribute, all unremarked upon._

_The fire burned to signify the end of one thing, though it marked the ending of hundred thousand others. 'Who will speak of those other moments? Who will remember them?'_

_'How long will it burn?'_

* * *

**Somewhere in Wyoming. May 18, 2008.**  
Cas stretched out across the bed in his boxers, a wry smile on his face as his body relaxed into the comfort of the mattress.

"If I had a heaven like other souls, this is what it would be," Cas said. 

"What?" Dean asked.

"Living these moments over and over."

"You'd get bored eventually."

"I wouldn't."

The former angel's eyes met Dean's, his meaning all too clearly spelled out by the look on his face.

* * *

**Madison, Indiana. February 21, 2007.**  
Dean said, "Cas, do you even know what you're doing? You haven't been human that long..."

Cas stood up to face Dean. 

"You've been human for over thirty years. And you still don't know what you're doing."

"That's not what I mean!"

"It is! It is exactly what you mean!"

Then Cas kissed him again, his hands reaching for the hunter's face. Dean broke away and stepped back, pinning the former angel's arms at his sides.

"Cas, man, trust me. You are not ready for this," Dean protested.

He couldn't take being so close, so intimate, so he let Cas go and walked across the room.

"Are you afraid I'll be hurt later?" Cas inquired. "Perhaps when I know better?"

"Yeah, Cas! That's pretty much it."

"There is no later," Cas said as he began to approach Dean again.

"Don't talk like that."

"It's true. In the best-case scenario, there is no later. There's just now."

"Cas, don't," Dean said as he realized how close he had gotten.

"You don't want to?"

"I didn't... that's not what I said."

"There is no later, so I won't be hurt," Cas said as his hand stroked down Dean's arm. When the hunter pulled away and went to the other side of the room, he asked, "What is it, Dean?"

Dean shook his head and turned away, uncertain and tongue-tied. Several minutes passed in silence. 

Finally, the former angel added, "So now you're willing to let me die a virgin?"

Dean's heart raced. He turned to Cas, his eyes dilated and his skin flushed. Then in one quick movement, he crossed the room and took the former angel into the kind of kiss he'd never forget.

* * *

**Madison, Indiana, the next morning...**  
Cas woke up sprawled out on his stomach next to Dean. He turned his head to watch his hunter sleep.

He started to roll onto his side but stopped when his body protested the movement. His legs and flank were all sore. Cas was no stranger to pain, but his previous experiences came from being stabbed, shot, or blown up. This sensation was completely different, uncomfortable but not entirely unpleasant.

He smiled as he indulged in the memories from the previous night: Dean's hands pawing him, the scent of sweat, the taste of salty skin.

The hunter told Cas they couldn't do everything yet, explaining that he just wasn't ready for some things, though he later admitted it was because he didn't have any lubricant on hand.

Still, it was the angel's first sexual experience, not counting those he had with his wife when his thought he was a man named Emmanuel. This was the first time the lust of his body followed the love in his heart, and it had been...

He struggled to find the right word. It had been a lot of things. It was awkward, of course it was, because he hadn't known what to do, but it had also been wonderful when Dean reassured him that he was knew to this as well. He talked the former angel through the beginning, but Cas soon found his verbal instructions no longer necessary.

Before all that, Dean had taken his time kissing and touching, and Cas followed his lead, first mirroring his actions, then exploring every part of Dean. Cas was painfully hard and panting after just a few minutes, and when his hand grazed Dean's tented jeans, he realized the hunter was just as badly in need of release.

Cas had gone first, determined to show Dean that he was ready for a physical relationship. He unzipped his jeans and yanked them down just past his thighs, before grabbing at his boxer shorts. Dean's cock sprung free, engorged and red, and the hunter sat back, reaching to pull Cas up.

The former angel beat him too it, however. He dragged his tongue along the bottom of his dick, tasting the salt and the sweat and loving it.

"Shit," Dean said, his head thrown back in pleasure.

Cas's hand grabbed the bottom of the shaft, and he started to work his tongue over the head, licking feverishly this way and that until Dean was positively squirming.

"Cas... pump... pump your hand up and down," Dean said. "Please, God, oh - "

His words were cut short as Cas followed his instructions, slowly moving his hand up and down while tightening his grip.

"What about this?" Cas asked.

His lips closed around the head of his cock, and Dean's hips jerked forward unexpectedly.

"Cas!" he growled.

With a popping sound, Cas pulled himself of Dean's hardened shaft, smiling at his success.

"I want to taste you," Cas said, still working Dean with his hand.

"Watch... watch your teeth," Dean said, spreading his legs. "Go slow, okay? Just, go slow."

Tightening his grip at the base, Cas leaned in and wrapped his lips around the head of Dean's cock again, swirling his tongue around it and slurping the saliva that nearly dripped out of his mouth. He repeated this action, slowly taking more of Dean in and rubbing his tongue against him, until his lips met his hand.

The whole time, Dean babbled incorrectly, though Castiel recognized his name occasionally. He could feel Dean's heartbeat in his mouth, and the idea of having the hunter at his wits' end was impossibly arousing.

He began to move his hand, but Dean's came down over his, holding his hand in place.

"Don't," Dean said. "God, Cas, your mouth is... I'm already gonna come."

The former angel ran his tongue up and down as his hand squeezed harder. Dean's hand went to his hair, gripping the back of his head as he moaned.

Cas couldn't pump up and down any longer, not now that Dean was so far in his mouth. So he swallowed, and when the hunter clearly enjoyed that, it occurred to Cas that he could, in fact, still move.

He bobbed his head back in time with his hand, slowly up Dean's cock. He didn't go very far before he moved back down, his lips following his hand. Dean's hips jerked forward again, and his cock hit the back of his throat.

But the former angel kept moving, despite his gag reflex. He wanted to feel Dean come apart, and every moan from his lips aroused him more. Dean tightened his hold on Cas, muttering about how he didn't want to thrust into his mouth, but the truth was that the hunter couldn't move very far with his pants around his knees.

Cas might've been embarrassed by the slurping sounds he made as he bobbed longer and faster, swallowing saliva so it didn't drip down his front, but the sounds Dean was making spurred him on, moving faster and faster.

"Cas, I'm - shit!" the hunter shouted.

A burst of sour and salty come hit Cas's mouth, and he did his best to swallow it, though much of it escape down his front. Dean continued to spurt as he groaned in appreciation, so Cas continued to move up and down, not relaxing his grip until Dean collapsed backwards on the bed.

The former angel was sweating, so he removed his shirt and wiped his face and mouth. As soon as he tossed it aside, Dean grabbed him and dragged him onto the bed.

"Pants off, now," Dean ordered.

Breathless, Cas worked his belt and pants opened, and the hunter yanked his pants and boxers off, along with his socks. He felt his cock touch his stomach, slightly wet from precum.

Dean had been clothed, but he undressed before joining Cas on the bed again, pushing him gently until he was sitting upright against the headboard.

"I'm gonna put on a show," the hunter said with mischievous look on his face. "I'm gonna make you squirm."

"Dean, I - "

Whatever words Cas had planned to say disappeared when Dean leaned forward and kissed the tip of Cas's cock. The hunter shimmied down until he was propped up on his elbows over Cas's stomach, his mouth hovering so close to his erection that Cas's hips shifted up slightly.

He breathed out, his breath warming the soft flesh of Cas's belly as he went lower. He looked up at Cas with the most innocent, emerald eyes, inches away from where he needed to be touched most.

"Dean, please," the former angel begged.

Then the hunter licked his lips. One hand went to Cas's shaft, lifting it up, as the other kept his hips in place. He licked underneath, from the base of his balls to the tip, swirling his tongue around the head, and the friction was enough to make Cas groan as he fisted the sheets.

"You like that?" Dean asked, his hand working over Cas's member, slipping sweetly through the slick of his saliva.

"Y-y-yes!" Cas stammered.

"Good," Dean replied. "First I'm gonna make you feel good. Then I'm gonna teach you how to fuck my mouth, Cas."

Before Cas could say anything, Dean's tongue distracted him, covering his cock with saliva to lube up his hand. His balls tightened as Dean tended to them, licking and sucking on them, and Cas wasn't sure how to take the sensation. It was like his heart was beating out of control, but his body needed this like air.

He felt himself coming close to an orgasm, but then everything stopped. Dean pinned his hips down and kissed his stomach, and Cas nearly cried out in frustration. He looked down, wondering if Dean didn't want to do this anymore, and what he saw redoubled his hard-on.

Dean made eye contact, and then one hand came out in front of his face. He showed Cas two fingers before putting them in his mouth and sucking on them brazenly, the sound of wet lips and swallowing driving the former angel made with renewed desire.

"Dean!" he groaned.

"I'm gonna take every inch of you," Dean said. "You're gonna hold my head in place and fuck my mouth. You understand?"

Cas didn't understand. His vessel's dick was at least seven inches long when erect, and he knew Dean's mouth wasn't big enough to fit him. But he didn't care how Dean planned to thwart the laws of physics, all he knew was that he was desperate for release. So he nodded his head, yes.

"Tell me to stop if it's too much," Dean said.

Then he slipped back down and spit, coating the base of Cas's shaft. He took his two sucked fingers and gathered it up as he took the head in his lips again, lightly sucking. Cas was vaguely aware of wetness going lower before one of Dean's figures began to rim him.

His first thought was to stop the hunter, as his nerves told him this was too much too fast, but those protests died before they reached his lips as Dean spit again and his finger continued to circle, wetting his hole and readying it. His wariness became excitement, anticipation, and his already strained cock began to pound in time with his escalating heart rate.

"Put your hands on either side of my head," Dean said.

Cas obeyed, gently wrapping his hands around the back of his head and feeling his hair under the palms of his hands. All the while Dean's slick finger kept going around and around. 

Then Dean took him into his mouth, the tip and a few inches more, and Cas's hips bucked of their own accord. If the hunter gagged, he did his best to hide it, and his finger began to slip a little deeper inside.

The former angel felt like his body was going it every direction. The finger felt like too much and not enough, and Dean's mouth was a warm and welcoming refuge that gave just enough friction to make him want more. His hips jerked again, but this time he held back.

Dean's lips left him with a slick POP! As he looked up at Cas, pushing his finger even deeper inside.

"I said fuck my mouth, Cas," Dean said in the most commanding voice he could must. "No holding back."

He nearly melted under the hunter's gaze, so he shook his head, yes.

Then Dean returned to his aching cock, taking him in again. His finger was now completely inside him, and his hips bucked up again, forcing Dean to swallow another inch. Then he crooked that finger, moving this way in that, as if searching for something. It didn't take him long to find it, and once his finger pressed against that spot inside, Cas thrust up in earnest, his cock hitting the back of the Winchester's throat as he saw starts.

Dean gagged but didn't stop, his second finger now plunging inside. It was too much at once, and the burning stretch caught Castiel off guard. Before he could say anything, Dean shifted, lying flat and lifting his head up, taking Cas's cock into his mouth and down his throat.

His mind went blank as Dean's fingers began to work him over, rubbing that spot inside him. His hips began to thrust, and he tightened his grip on Dean's head, holding him in place, the words 'no holding back,' ringing through his head as he completely lost control.

Dean must've gaged and choked, but he didn't let it show. He rode Castiel's frantic thrusting out, swallowing and slurping as Cas screamed his name over and over again.

Then a new wave of pleasure hit Cas, his body stilled before jerking forward slightly a few times as he ejaculated. His eyes saw Dean between his legs, and the thought of him swallowing his come made the angel come harder and harder until he felt like he didn't have any fluid left in his body. His hands dropped to either side of Dean's head as his head felt back.

He took deep, panting breathes for a few minutes as he came down from the high. Dean laid down next to him and rubbed his chest and stomach till he came to his sense again.

"That was incredible," Cas said. "Did I hurt you?"

"Do I look hurt?" Dean asked. "You're a quick study."

The memories made Cas hard again, his cock ready for more attention, even though his body ached from the effort of last night. He examined Dean's face, wondering how much better his jerking off fantasies would be now that he had had the hunter for the first time.

Just then, Dean's eyes fluttered opened, and he said, "Cas, staring is creepy." 

"Do we have time to... again?" Cas asked.

"What time is it?"

"Nine forty-three."

"Damnit," Dean cursed. He rubbed his eyes and forced himself to sit up. "I overslept. Sorry, Cas, we gotta get outta here."

"Are you certain?" the former angel asked, stroking Dean's chest.

Dean captured Cas's wrist to stop him, the look on his face stern and disapproving for a moment before he licked his lips in anticipation.

"Yeah, we gotta go," Dean repeated. "But I'll make it up to you later."

* * *

**Men of Letters Bunker. March 1, 2007.**  
Dean rolled over to find his former angel awake. It didn't surprise him; as far as Dean could tell, Castiel never slept through the night. He seemed content to lie awake and watch Dean sleep. For some reason, it seemed a lot less creepy now than it did when he was an angel.

"Ah, sorry," Cas mumbled. "Didn't mean to stare."

Dean wondered if Cas could still hear thoughts these days; he always seemed to know what was on his mind. 

"I was wondering," Dean prompted.

"About something in particular?"

"You think Sammy knows about us?"

"He does," Cas replied.

"He does?" Dean asked, sitting up in bed. 

"I'm assuming."

"Cas, you can't assume! Not with crap like this."

"Fine. I don't know."

"Yeah, neither do I."

"Should we tell him?" Cas asked. "Is that what you're asking?"

"No reason not to," Dean replied.

"I wouldn't say that."

Dean asked, "What? You're ashamed of this?"

"No," Cas replied. "But keeping things hidden is... arousing."

"Arousing?" Dean repeated. "Huh."

He slid his hand up Cas's inner thigh and began teasing his skin with his fingers. 

"How arousing?" Dean asked.

"Very."

* * *

**Across the Northwestern States. May 23, 2007.**  
Cas had Dean pinned across the back seat of the minivan. They had just gotten started, and the former angel was milking every second.

Cas glided down to Dean's crotch, slipped off his pants and boxers, and took the head of his cock into his mouth. He slowly maneuvered his head and sucked in.

Dean bit his lip in a ridiculous attempt to keep quiet. It started as short inhalations, but Cas quickly escalated to tightening gulps. Dean moaned loudly, unable to hold back any longer.

Loud coughing startled Cas. He released Dean and peeked out the window in time to see Sam Winchester moving away from the van at a brisk pace. 

"What's wrong?" Dean asked, panting. 

"I believe your brother now knows," Cas said innocently, still looking out the window.

Dean came close behind Cas and whispered in his ear, "So what's the point in stopping now?"

The hunter grabbed hold of Cas, and flipped him around, maneuvering the former angel so he was bent forward facing the back of the van with his hands bracing himself along the back of the seat. Dean stripped Cas, throwing his clothing left and right.

With every discarded garment, Dean came closer to Cas, who was now nearly naked and breathing hard in anticipation.

As Dean slipped off Cas's boxers, he whispered into his ear, "Unless you want me to stop?"

"No," Cas said, turning his head to meet Dean's eye.

"No what?"

"Don't stop."

Dean's lubed fingers began rimming as he trailed kisses on Cas's neck and shoulder. He scrapped his teeth down and then rubbed his tongue over the area to soothe the pain.

Cas was still loose from the night before, so he canted his hips back, urging Dean to hurry up. He was rewarded with a single finger pushing cool lube inside, swirling to spread it out. Cas leaned forward, and a second finger pressed in as Dean scissored him open.

With his free hand, Dean turned Cas's head and pulled him into a fierce kiss, which went on as he added a third finger, then a fourth. He found that spot inside Cas that made him see stars as he stroked it, and the former angel nearly came from just the few short strokes.

Then Dean broke the kiss, withdrew his fingers, and lined himself behind Cas, who curled back to meet him. Dean reached in front of him and took hold of his throbbing hard-on, pumping his hand up and down as he sank inside him.

The hunter took his time, sliding just the tip of his cock in before pulling out, then going a little farther and pulling out, driving Cas absolutely insane with need. The occasional stretching burn was drowned out by the waves of pleasure from his cock, which Dean never stopped stroking. Finally, he was fully sheathed inside, and he remained their for a moment, pressing himself against Cas, who whimpered for him to continue.

And did he ever. His thrusts were shallow and fast, hitting Cas in the G-spot each time, pushing him to the edge in just a few minutes. Dean's hand directed his come as his orgasm hit, and the moaning reached a pitch and the hunter fallowed immediately after.

He collapsed over Cas's back as they both came down from the high. If Cas could read Dean's mind right then, he would've seen that the hunter was living the happiest moment of his adult life, revealing in the afterglow with the man he loved more than anything else in the world.

But Cas couldn't read his mind, not anymore. So as Dean pulled them down to the seat to rest, he was left to wonder. Castiel never thought he could be happy has a human, certainly not with only a little over a year to learn how, yet he had never known love or joy like he did in this shared moment with his hunter.

"I love you," Dean whispered before he drifted off to sleep.

Cas's heart skipped a beat.

* * *

**Blue Springs, Missouri. May 15, 2008.**  
Cas watched Dean sleep off his fever, and at some point, the hunter's lips pulled into a smile. It warmed Cas's heart.

"Staring is creepy," Dean mumbled. "Unless you're gonna get me laid. Then it's not."

"Are you propositioning me?"

"Yeah," Dean replied.

"You're too hot," Cas said.

"Huh?"

"You have a temperature of one hundred and one."

"That's right," Dean said sleepily. "I'm hot."

The hunter attempted to kiss Cas but missed the mark and wound up drooped across his lap instead. The former angel stroked his hair for a while before gently moving him back to the bed.

* * *

**Men of Letters Bunker. May 17, 2008.**  
Cas drained a glass of water then promptly returned to bed, where Dean was already tossing and turning. Cas crawled in with him, and the hunter stopped moving.

"I didn't mean to wake you," Cas said apologetically.

"I wasn't sleeping," Dean replied.

"Something's troubling you," Cas pointed out.

It wasn't a question, and though he didn't press Dean for answers, it was clear he wanted to know more.

Dean said, "Figured Sammy would finish up, we'd all disappear or whatever. I prepared myself for that."

"Me too."

"Cas, I... I can't do that," Dean said. "Just accept that we're gonna disappear and keep going like it's not gonna happen. Like it doesn't matter."

Cas stroked Dean's hair as he said, "We must."

They shared a moment of resigned silence before Cas stole kiss.

* * *

**Somewhere in Wyoming. May 18, 2008.**  
Dean broke away, pulling his lips from Cas's as he collapsed onto the bed, panting and sweaty from the effort.

He yanked Cas down on top of him, holding him close, revealing in the afterglow. Neither one needed to remark on how incredible it had been.

Cas leaned his forehead into Dean's as they both caught their breath. 

"This was a stupid risk," Cas said. "We shouldn't delay our plan with indulgences – "

Dean interrupted, "No. I needed this to keep going. The world can wait a few more freaking hours to be saved because I needed this."

"I needed it as well."

Cas grasped Dean's hands between his own. His fingers found a pulse, and he held it, feeling the rhythm of Dean's heart beating. He imagined it in time with his own, though as a human he had no true way of telling.


	10. Nightmares Must Begin

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dean, Sam, Ruby, and the newly human Crowley gather at the Devil's Gate in Wyoming to help Sam complete the first two trials again. Anna takes Cas as a vessel to assist, but things go terribly wrong when Alastair and Meg march against them with a full demonic army.

_There was a fire burning on earth._

_Seven hundred degrees Celsius burns away the skin and flesh. One thousand degrees burns the remaining muscle and bone. Holy oil fueled the fire. It was infinitely fitting and deeply profound in its own way._

_'How long will it burn?'_

* * *

**The Devil's Gate in Wyoming. May 18, 2008.**  
Sam, Dean, Ruby, and Crowley gathered around the Devil's Gate. The former demon complained loudly as he set up for the spell, and all the while Ruby mocked the style and form of his witchcraft.

"I've kept up my end. So, where's the angel you promised?" Crowley demanded from the Winchesters.

"I am here," Cas replied as he appeared suddenly. 

"You?" Crowley sneered. 

"My name is Anael," Anna/Cas said as his eyes erupted into a golden-white hue. "I have taken this vessel for a time."

"See? Angel at the ready," Sam said. "Now how do we cast the spell?"

"All it needs is a few words and blood," Crowley replied. "Human blood only. Both of you would be best."

Sam and Dean cut their forearms and recited a brief chant, finishing the spell.

Nothing happened, and four pairs of angry eyes fell on Crowley, who threw up his hands in protest. 

Then the world trembled.

"Take Crowley outta here," Dean said to Anna/Cas. "He's been human for less than a week, he gets a pass. Oh, and whatever happens, can you make sure the Colt gets back to our younger selves?"

"I will."

In a blink of an eye, Crowley and Anna/Cas disappeared with the sound of rustling feathers.

Not long after, howling resounded, echoing all over the graveyard. 

"Hellhounds!" Ruby shouted.

Dean and Sam donned their x-ray goggles. The hounds were still far off, but the shadowy mutts were clearly inside the giant devil's trap and getting closer. It was hard to count how many, as they could only be seen as they darted under lampposts or other sources of light.

Even without a head count, there were too many.

"A lot of hellhounds," Sam said fearfully. 

"What the hell?" Dean growled. "The supersized Devil's Trap should've held them up a hellova lot longer."

Sam cast a glaring eye to Ruby, who was clearly shaken by the approaching pack of demonic canines.

Sam asked, "Begs the question, doesn't it? Who let them in?"

"You think it was me?" Ruby demanded scornfully.

"You are a demon," Sam replied.

"Yeah, a well-known, deeply unpopular demon," Ruby said. "Like you boys said, with Lilith dead, all I am is the traitor who helped the Winchesters."

"Doesn't mean you're not a two-face bitch," Dean said. "Just putting it out there."

"I'm not what you should be worried about," she said. "If hellhounds can get in, then so can demons. I'm guessing they sent the mutts in first to soften us up, which means it's only a matter of time before the big guns get here." 

"Fine, we believe your sorry ass," Dean said. "Any ideas on how they got through the trap so quickly?"

"Isn't it obvious?" Ruby asked. "Humans, Dean. They used humans."

* * *

**Somewhere along the iron tracks a few hours ago...**  
Meg gathered a trio of human minions outside the train tracks. Each one of them was shaking in fear. That made her smile.

"All I need is for you three to get these over the tracks," Meg said, indicating the crates. "Once you're on the other side, line the boxes up. Then take these tools and rip the tracks up so there's a clean break straight through. Shouldn't take that long."

All three nodded their heads, yes.

Meg continued, "This next part is important. Notice that there is one crate for each of you. After you rip up the tracks, you need to go to the boxes and open the doors at the same time. All three of you have to be synchronized. That's very important."

"And, we do this, our contracts are void?" one man asked.

"That's right, Sunshine," Meg replied. "What're you waiting for, boys?"

The walking meat suits all raced to do as instructed. 

She enjoyed watching them destroy the devil's trap. But their expressions when the hounds began to tear them to bits? Now that was entertainment.

* * *

**The Devil's Gate in Wyoming. May 18, 2008.**  
Dean slowed the hellhounds down with salt and iron rounds from his shotgun, and Ruby hacked and slashed any that got too close.

It took them a few tries to wound one badly enough, but once the hound was down, Sam swooped in to finish it off. He sliced it open and covered himself in its blood.

"Get to cover, Sammy!" Dean shouted.

Sam nodded to his brother before he took cover behind a large monument that they had reinforced on three sides. The madness of the scene fell away as he said the words that completed the first trial. Again.

Then the younger Winchester drew an angel blade and peeked out to see how things were going. There were over a dozen hellhounds, and the three of them had only killed four so far...

Without warning, Dean tackled Ruby and pinned her behind a tall headstone. She struggled against him, but before Ruby could retort, a blinding light filled the area. The hounds squealed and howled in pain as they evaporated.

"Dean?" Anna/Cas asked. "Are you all right?"

"Yeah, we're good."

Sam and Dean regrouped at the door of the Devil's Gate and jammed the Colt into the lock. They stepped back as the intricate mechanism began to shift, and in a few seconds, the Gate burst open with a hail of smoke and light fleeing outward like a tidal wave. 

Anna/Cas started for the door, pushing against the tide to shut the gate, slowly gaining ground. Ruby and the Winchesters watched from where they had taken cover.

It was almost over. 

Then the angel stopped, like a wall blocked the path, and something sent Anna/Cas flying away from the Devil's Gate. 

"Well, well, well," Alastair said as he approached. "What do we have to play with today?"

Anna/Cas threw something white and hot at the demon, but he dodged it. Other demons appeared, like an army circling the Gate.

"Don't worry boys," Meg announced. "We brought fun for the whole family!"

"If you screw us this time, Ruby, you're gonna be worse than not-dead and in Hell," Dean whispered as he handed Ruby the demon-killing knife.

She nodded as a wicked smile spread across her face. Ruby took in her surroundings for a moment, then she pounced, making quick work of the posse of demons that had closed in on them.

Sam and Dean, armed with pilfered angel blades, hacked away at every Bob, Dick, and Joe demon that approached. Both took bad hits in the fray, and Sam was literally shaking. Dean could only hope that it was the weight of the Trials. 

Alastair and Anna/Cas were toe to toe, but she had the upper hand on the demon, who hadn't met a match for himself in years.

"Sammy, just shut the gate and say the damn spell!" Dean yelled. "Don't worry about us!"

Just as Sam retreated, Dean spotted a man painting a blood sigil on a tombstone. Without Anna/Cas, they'd be done for, so Dean dodged Meg and went straight for the sigil man. He had to be human for the blood sigil to work, so Dean cracked him over the back of the head, knocking him down and possibly killing him.

Meg, on the other hand, had let Dean pass so that she could sink her teeth into the traitorous bitch, Ruby.

The younger demon slashed Meg with the knife, which admittedly burned, but then Ruby was in the air, burning. She roared in pain and dropped the knife, which Meg deftly caught. Then she thrust it into Ruby over and over again.

Ruby's screams echoed with Meg's laughter.

Meg tossed the empty meat suit aside and went straight for Sam, who was near the Gate. She was almost there when she hit an invisible wall. She looked down to find a devil's trap etched in stone beneath her feet.

At a loss for holy water, Sam injected Meg with one of the remaining syringes of purified blood. She screamed and grabbed at him, so he staked her with a length of Palo Santo for good measure.

Then he returned his attention to the door, which was ajar and still spewing demons upon demons. He put all his weight behind it and finally moved it the last few inches. Just as he yanked the Colt from the lock, Alastair plunged a stake into his chest, missing his heart by centimeters.

The pain paralyzed Sam, and the demon took pleasure in slowly pressing the stake deeper.

BANG!

Sam shot him with the Colt, and Alastair's eyes were wide with shock as his meat suit tumbled onto him. The weight of the lifeless body forced the stake through Sam's spine.

Anna/Cas, still in a weakened state from battle injuries, dragged Dean to Sam's side. The angel turned and held off the attacking demon horde with an angel blade in each hand. 

Dean pulled Alastair off his brother.

"Sammy?" he said in disbelief. "Sam?"

Realizing that there were too many demons, the angel considered the possible escape routes, but there was little point unless they could complete the trials before the timeline shifted and expunged the future Dean and future Castiel from existence.

That was when the angel noticed the demon Meg trapped mere feet away from them, snarling as she stopped her feet in a vain effort to break the devil's trap that ensnared her. 

Anna/Cas bounded Meg's powers and knocked her out. Then the angel teleported Meg, Dean, and Sam's body away from the Devil's Gate.

* * *

**That same day, somewhere in Northern California.**  
As soon as they landed, Anna/Cas secured Meg. Even a simple demon binding was draining and caused the angel to buckle. Alastair's spells had weakened her. She needed to regroup.

She healed her vessel and Dean Winchester, nearly collapsing from the effort.

Dean cradled Sam's body. 

"Sammy," he whispered. "Cas, I mean, Anna, can't you... can't you help him?"

"I'm sorry Dean, but he died moments after Alastair. He was gone before I could get to him. He can't be healed, and I don't have the power to bring him back."

"No, you've gotta do something!" Dean yelled. He took a few deep breaths and said, "I need... I need Cas."

Anna/Cas nodded, and the angel left her vessel. Cas collapsed to the ground.

"Cas?" Dean said, going to his side.

"I'm fine," Cas replied. "I'm sorry about Sam."

"Cas, I – I just... I'm sorry."

"What happened to Ruby?" Cas asked.

"Dead," Dean spat.

"But we need a demon," Cas said. His eyes fell on the unconscious body next to them. "Is this Meg?"

Dean nodded without looking up from Sam's body.

Cas put his arms around him and said, "Your brother isn't dead. He's alive and well, and if we finish this, he'll be safe. He'll have a life. A real life. No demons. No angels. No Apocalypse."

"You're right," Dean muttered. "We gotta keep on track, so long as we're still breathing."

Cas kissed his forehead.

"Which means I gotta finish the second trial," Dean continued.

"What about the first?" Cas asked. "We'll need a hellhound - "

"I already did the first," Dean interrupted. "Right after Sammy told me his Third Trial didn't take."

"That's why you've been ill?"

Dean nodded.

"Then, I'll ensure Meg is properly restrained and prepared to be cured. We have purified blood," Cas said. "But right now, you need to complete the Second Trial. I doubt we have the strength to repeat it."

Dean closed his eyes and said, "Kah na ahm darr."

The hunter collapsed. His heart was broken, and his blood boiled. The trials weighed on him heavier than any sin, any self-hatred he'd ever known before. He despised himself for ever letting Sam take on this burden. 

"Now all I have to do is cure Meg, what a treat," Dean commented.

"I'll be with you, Dean," Cas said, pulling the Winchester back to his feet. "I will be with you."

* * *

**Hours later...**  
Tears streamed down Meg's face. Her humanity telegraphed from every inch of her stolen body.

Dean wasn't looking so good. He had had to supplement some of his own blood to complete the ritual, which Meg complicated as much as she could with screaming and struggling. 

But she was human now, and Dean allowed himself to sit down and rest for a moment. 

"Dean, get up," Cas said. "You're almost done. You need only say the spell."

"We should do this out in the open in case I explode or something," Dean said. "Can you get us somewhere out like that where other people won't be?"

Cas nodded. "I will."

"Cas, make sure our bones are burned," Dean implored. "I know that the whole timeline thing is suppose to disappear us, but..."

"Dean, you have my word," Cas replied. 

The former angel stepped aside for a moment and whispered into the wind, "Anna, can you hear me? We need your help."

A woman appeared. Her eyes were soft and warm.

"Castiel," she said.

"You found another vessel?" 

Anna nodded. She cast a wary eye to the weeping Meg.

"Can you take us back to the Gate?" Cas asked. "Dean needs to complete the last trial, and it seems a fitting place to do it."

"All of you?" Anna asked.

"Yes."

"Very well. Be ready. I'll be back in a moment."

* * *

**The Devil's Gate in Wyoming. May 19, 2008.**  
The graveyard around the Hell Gate was littered with mangled bodies. Demons paraded around the doorway. Some were confused, others triumphant, their deranged singing and shouting rising into the air as a curse to the entire earth.

Anna appeared in front of the Gate and revealed her true form to the area, casting a pallor of energy that obliterated every demon for miles. 

She disappeared and returned a moment later with Dean, Castiel, and Meg along with the body of Sam Winchester.

Dean took hold of Cas and pulled him into a long, slow kiss. He could barely stand, so the former angel held him up.

"If I explode," Dean warned Cas.

"Then I will explode with you," Cas replied. "I promised to be with you while you do this, Dean. I won't let you go." 

Dean smiled and nodded sadly before he said, "Kah na ahm darr."

The world shook violently.

Dean screamed and fell to his knees as his body rippled with energy. He broke Cas's grip and scrambled to a headstone to prop himself up.

"Run!" Dean yelled. 

Anna took hold of the now-human Meg, but when she reached for Cas, he shook his head.

"GO!" Cas shouted.

Anna and Meg disappeared as the former angel went to his hunter. Cas redoubled his hold on Dean, even as the hunter began to convulse.

"We're going to finish this together," Cas whispered in his ear as the earth shook.

* * *

**Men of Letters Bunker. May 17, 2008.**  
Cas's hands were wrapped around Dean's as they curled together on the bed.

Dean said, "Figured Sammy would finish up, we'd all disappear or whatever. I prepared myself for that."

"Me too."

"Cas, I... I can't do that," Dean said. "Just accept that we're gonna disappear and keep going like it's not gonna happen. Like it doesn't matter."

Cas stroked Dean's hair as he said, "We must."

They shared a moment of resigned silence before Cas stole kiss. Dean pulled back so he could look into Castiel's eyes.

"Gabriel is powerful enough to keep us and our doppelgangers around, isn't he?"

"Even if he is, that doesn't mean he will."

"I've already asked him, and he told me if we pulled this off, he'd do it," Dean said quietly. 

"You mean, if we succeed and survive."

"Is that such a bad thing?" Dean asked, sitting up properly. "I thought you would be happy."

Cas sat up as well. "You believe you will survive the death of your brother?"

"He won't be dead."

"He will," Cas said, coming closer to Dean. "You are still alive in this timeline. The younger Sam Winchester will never see you as his brother."

"So what?"

"You shouldn't have to do that."

"If it buys me more time with you, I'll do it."

"You'll regret it."

"No, I won't," Dean said.

"You won't?"

"No. I wanna be here," Dean replied. "I wanna survive this thing and be with you. We can figure out the rest."

* * *

**The Devil's Gate in Wyoming. May 18, 2008.**  
Storm winds cascaded around them. The demons regrouped in record time, flocking to the battleground.

"Dean, I love you," Castiel said.

"Me too," Dean replied. After a few stuttering breaths, he added, "I thought we had it."

As they spoke, the world changed. Black smoke was yanked back into the bowels of hell. The pores of the earth opened and snatched demons like whirlpools, drawing them under. 

Their screams sounded like a hurricane around them as Cas cradled Dean. 

"I wanted to stay," Dean whispered.

"I know."

"I still want to stay."

"I know."

"I don't wanna leave you," Dean said. "I could've stayed. I mean, I could've handled Sam being gone."

"I know that."

"I'm sorry."

"Don't be," Cas said. "I'm not. I'm not sorry for a single second of it."

"Me either."

Then Dean closed his eyes, and his last breath left his lips. Castiel hadn't realized that he had started crying, but the tears fell in earnest now. 

Anna returned with Crowley and Meg, two of the oldest enemies to one another and to the Winchesters. Their new humanity weighed heavily on them.

"We must build a pyre," Cas said, remembering his promise. "Quickly."

The four of them collected nearby branches and trees, chopping as needed. It took hours to pile the wood by hand, and they placed the two bodies together.

Sam and Dean Winchester, their fire finally burned.

Unafraid of how the Garrison would react, Anna stood in vigil with Crowley, Meg, and Castiel. She was an angel among impossibilities: two demons who returned humanity and one incredible man, an angel-become-human.

It was a fitting start for a gathering to honor the Winchesters.

Hours passed, and others silently joined.

"They live," Anna whispered to Cas from time to time. "They live."

And, indeed, hours later, the living Winchesters came to the Gate with Bobby and Rufus. They took their time wandering the vigil, getting their bearings.

Finally, the younger Dean approached the obvious ringleader and asked, "Who are you?"

"Castiel."

"Something big obviously went down here. I'm talking Texas-sized," Dean said. "Can you fill us in?"

"No."

"No?"

"No," Cas repeated.

"Why the hell not?"

"Because you're not him," Cas replied. He couldn't bring himself to look at the younger Dean, so he passed the Colt to him, never moving his eyes from the fire. "This is yours. I promised to get this to you."

"How did you get this?" the younger Dean demanded. "Who did you promise?"

"Someone I love."

"You gonna elaborate, asshat?"

"No."

"Any particular reason?"

"Because I love him, and you're not him," Cas said harshly. "I love him, and, right now, his body is burning."

Anna put her hand on Dean's shoulder. "Leave him be," she said. "For now. You'll know all in time."

Castiel bowed his head. He couldn't even think the name 'Dean Winchester' without a deep ache resounding within.

The fire roared. Castiel could feel the presence of others gathering: angels, monsters, people. None of them could understand the sacrifice that the Winchesters - Castiel's Winchesters - had made. No one would know how any of this came to be.

Cas wept. The knowledge that he would vanish at any moment was the only comfort he had. His task was finished, so there was no longer need for him. Every time he felt overwhelmed, he reminded himself that time would soon right itself.

But hours passed. Castiel's Winchesters had been reduced to ash. The wind began to scatter them, yet Cas remained. 

The former angel stood vigil through the night, the morning, and into the afternoon. Those that had gathered had dispersed when the fire dropped to flames. 

Suddenly, Cas dropped, weak and dehydrated with the heaviness of his grief. 

Anna gently restored him to his feet. Of all those who came to the Gate, only he and Anna remained. 

"Anna, why am I still here?" he asked.

"You are the sole witness to the Winchester Trials," she replied. "The two men, both living and dead, who saved the world. You alone can tell their story."

"It's better forgotten."

"Gabriel told you that you must pay a price," Anna explained. "And this is it. Even the Prophet Chuck doesn't know what you know. Only you and you alone. You must live, so you will."

Cas stared at the ash and embers. 

"I'll live?" he repeated in disbelief. 

_'How long will it burn?'_


End file.
